Residents and ward councillors were left hanging and rather disappointed after representatives from the Randfontein Local Municipality didn’t show up this past weekend for an urgent community meeting.
The meeting was supposed to be held at the Randgate Boxing Hall from 12pm to 2pm on Saturday 19 July where issues regarding the incorrect water and electricity accounts as well as incorrect rates and taxes statements were to be discussed.
According to Ward 9 DA Councillor Peter Dick, “The council didn’t even book the venue for the event. This should have been the first thing on the list. That meeting was really important and some of us went out of our way to ensure that people come. However, their attendance was pointless because the heads of departments within the Randfontein Local Municipality were a no-show,” says Dick.
He adds, “This defeated the whole purpose of the meeting. The municipality is already in a crisis with residents being in arrears with their municipal accounts.
“There are residents who are paying for their rates and there are those who are not and we have chaos with our billing system. My question is, how are we ever going to solve these problems when we have residents being stood up by their own municipal representatives? I think the situation could have been handled better by informing people about the postponement ahead of time,” says Dick.
The herald contacted the Randfontein Local Municipality mayoral spokesperson Lucky Chiya who says that he would have to consult with members from the speaker’s office to determine why the meeting was called off.
Municipality fails to pitch for community meeting
No-show from municipal heads of departments leaves councillors and residents furious.
