Steve Kotzé talks about problems in his ward

Ward 86 councillor Steve Kotzé says there has been a lot of progress in the ward however, there are numerous issues that need immediate attention.

According to Kotzé, there are some issues that need resolving and these are:

• Dumping in open spaces is a city-wide malpractice for which the city’s bylaw enforcement units have not proved effective.
• Random informal taxi ranks cause traffic congestion, unsanitary practices and pose a danger to other road users.
• The City’s tardiness in commissioning the long-promised Garden Refuse Site (GRS) has exhausted all excuses to the point of embarrassment. A property developer has made available and levelled the necessary space for the establishment of a GRS but the City has been reluctant to erect a precast perimeter wall and replace the skips that were removed from the previous Waterval GRS. It is believed this delay is contributing to random dumping in the area by some residents who are not prepared to drive to other GRS points.
• A hitherto lack of effective enforcement of bylaws regarding problem properties and vagrants is also evident. Application of the City’s policy on holding reckless and negligent drivers accountable for damage to road and traffic signal infrastructure is noticeably absent. Sewerage blockages and overflows pollute the local environment without the necessary resolve from the present administration to correct this head-on health catastrophe; the ecoli count in local streams is reported as being astronomically above maximum health safety levels.
• Continued theft of overhead cable has come at huge cost and inconvenience to ratepayers; the phased-in changeover to a single ‘cluster’ cable has, however, helped stem further loss.
• The Joburg 10Plus concept, launched by the Mayor in 2012, meant to bring Metro policing closer to communities through ward-based deployment has not borne fruit to date. Rather than focus on ward issues, as per concept objectives, these officers are instead deployed to do duty outside the respective ward for the larger portion of the work-shift. The shortage of vehicles needed per ward and serious lack of communication with Ward Commanders, compounds this issue.
• Alberts Farm is a City Parks facility which has been granted flagship status equal to the Zoo Lake – yet, it has no public toilets. Alien vegetation is invading Alberts Farm at an alarming rate without adequate or meaningful response from City Parks.

According to Kotzé, “the above issues have been a continuous battle to resolve. The common denominator has been found to be a lack of political will of the ruling party to allocate adequate resources and, in instances, capable management to provide quality service delivery.”

Kotzé said plans for the New Year include more pressure on the ruling administration to enforce the City’s bylaws and maintenance or upgrade of infrastructure in this ward.