City of Mbombela mayor promises improved services during imbizo
The five-day mayoral imbizo campaign began in Ward 30 as part of plans to improve service delivery in these troubled neighbourhoods.
The City of Mbombela’s (CoM) five-day mayoral imbizo kicked off in Ward 30 as part of some plans to accelerate service delivery in these embattled communities.
The imbizo, led by the CoM’s mayor, Sibongile Makhushe-Mazibuko, accompanied by top officials from the municipality, took place in the city hall on June 5.
Water shortages headed the residents’ list of problems. The list also included dealing with crime, drug dealers, prostitution, cleanliness and decaying buildings in the town.
The community members highlighted the need for the mayor to develop programmes to rejuvenate the area. They told her in no uncertain terms that she should ensure that these promised goals are properly monitored until they are reached, as the once beautiful small town is now dilapidated and “no investor would like to put their money in a rotten town.”
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They also wanted Makhushe-Mazibuko to treat the water challenges as a matter of urgency, by speeding up the installation of the backup generators at the Boschrand Pump Station, and making sure it is always filled with enough diesel to function.
In response, she said the imbizo is part of the municipality’s intervention to speed up some of the service delivery issues and provide the community members with a platform to express their concerns to their leaders.
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“Regarding water challenges, the refurbishment and installation of the backup generators are in progress. It is expected to be running before the end of June, and I will make sure that it always has diesel. As for the drug dealers and sex workers in Peter Graham Street, I will engage with the police to increase their visibility. I have also issued an instruction to the municipal energy department to immediately install more street lights. I think all the criminal activity is taking advantage of the darkness on the streets, but that will be sorted,” she said.
After the engagement with the community members, the mayor’s entourage got their hands dirty, fixed and graded some of the roads, cleaned storm water drains and patched some potholes. This included borehole maintenance, grass cutting, waste and litter removal and dealing with illegal dumping, crime prevention and painting lines on some roads.The residents said they hoped the promises made would be realised this time.
