Paving the way to a better town

Newcastle’s mayor, Afzul Rehman, acknowledged, together with members of the municipality, that service delivery in the town needed to speed up.

During a budget roadshow held at the Richview Civic Hall on April 24, Cllr Rehman elaborated on the matter.

“We as the municipality of Newcastle have taken on many tasks, and made many decisions to help the community. A challenge we now face, is to ensure that our service delivery to the community is quick and efficient,” said Cllr Rehman.

The roadshow saw members of the community from Wards 3, 4 and 25 being addressed.

One of the major issues brought up was that of road developments and restoration in the area.

“We will be plunging just over R75-million into building new roads in the next financial year,” explained Cllr Rehman.

He continued: “The municipality will be concentrating on providing sidewalks for pedestrians, joggers, cyclists and people in wheelchairs, as we want to promote healthy living.”

Furthermore, the development and extension of Link Road was addressed, and Cllr Rehman projected that within six months of basic services being implemented in the area, the municipal housing project would also begin.

“The youth of our town are especially important, and to help ensure their safety, we are building speeds around the school area and have budgeted R600 000 for this matter,” he added.

During the event, residents were given the opportunity to raise their queries and concerns with the mayor and ward councillors present.

Ward 3 Councillor, Matthew Shunmugam, addressed some of the matters, such as Siyahlahla-la residents concerns over their livestock during the development period, as well as grass cutting in the area.