Residents despair over decay in Modjadjiskloof

“We find it confusing that they are able to spend over R2 million on an entrance sign while the town is a mess,” said Jana Hayward, an administrator on one of the town’s WhatsApp groups. “We as a community need assistance, we need to be heard.

We beg and call for problems to be fixed but nothing gets done,” Hayward told the Herald. “At times the town goes without water for days. We have electricity problems, we have no street lights, there are potholes all over and vegetation is overgrown.

Yet, we continue to pay for services we don’t get. I’m one of the admins on the two WhatsApp groups in town, and despite that the complaining never stops, nothing is done,” Hayward said. She said that they have been in contact with the municipal manager but do not get any indication of the way forward to their complaints. “Municipal accounts are not up to date. I have tried to call the mayor multiple times to no avail.

The past weekend a pipe burst and we called the official in charge of water, his reply was that they have shut down the water but forgot to let the community know.” Outside of water and electricity problems, the cleaning of sidewalks is also problematic with garbage lying around, water leakages, and overgrown trees said Christelle Strijdom, another WhatsApp group admin. GLM spokesperson, Lovers Maenetje, told the Herald that many of the complaints residents refer to had been seen.

“It is our understanding that the community of Modjadjiskloof is not happy with the services rendered in the town, we would also want things to be perfect, and as an institution, we have strived to make sure that any service delivered in the area is perfect. Most of the issues raised are maintenance related which means it remains an ongoing issue; as with every service acquired, there needs to be maintained that goes with it.

We have had many discussions with the residents of Modjadjiskloof in terms of the alignment of services they require versus the available budget. In the past few years, even with the small budget available, we were able to develop the town through the projects as guided by the residents,” she said. Maenetje said completed projects include refurbishment of the electricity network to Nersa standards at R19,3m in 2021; an electrical low voltage line upgrade at R2,6m and the electrical upgrade of the ring-feeder at Christina’s Rest at a cost of R1,4m in
2019.

Also read: ‘Beautification’ of Modjadjiskloof vandalised

The caravan park was completed at a cost of R1,2m; resealing of the streets in Panorama at a cost of R3,6m in 2021; refurbishment of Hospital Street and gabion installations at a cost of R3,1m that was completed in 2019 according to Maenetje. She also referred to the refurbishment of Uitsig Street at a cost of R4,1m and the resealing of the Modjadjiskloof testing centre at a cost of R1,6m was both completed in 2021.

She said the maintenance of Modjadjiskloof taxi rank toilets, at a cost of R108 000 was also completed last year as well as the installation of electricity smart prepaid meters at a cost of R1,9m.

Another completed project according to Maenetje is that of the 11Kv feeder line from Tzaneen to Modjadjiskloof at a cost of R680 000 that was completed this year. She referred to one project currently in progress the beautification of Modjadjiskloof town entrance at a cost of R2,7m.

Also read: R2.7M GLM tender for ‘beautification’

A project in the design stage, according to Maenetje, is the refurbishment of the taxi rank. “In the many engagements as a municipality with residents, we have been pleading for patience because we have inherited old infrastructure that needs billions of rands to get into perfect shape. At the moment we are working tirelessly to make sure that we work with the little that we have,” she said.

“The municipality will continue to engage with residents in terms of how they want their needs prioritised. We will further intensify maintenance of roads, water, sewers, and electricity,” she concluded.