Bekkersdal to receive major improvements
Department to put aside R250 million to renew and improve the sewer situation.
Saturday 15 November marked a turning point in the revitalisation of Bekkersdal as the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Westonaria Local Municipalities launched the Westonaria Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP).
According to a statement received from Human Settlements, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo, “This multi-faceted plan includes improvements to be made in Bekkersdal which will improve the lives of the residents for the better.
“This intervention follows the protracted service delivery protests in the Bekkersdal which have resulted in considerable destruction of public property.”
On Saturday MEC Jacob Mamabolo was joined by Pravin Gordhan, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister and Panyaza Lesufi, Education MEC in launching the SDIP. The theme of the day was “Turning Bekkersdal Around for a Better Future”.
The government handed over the site to a contractor for the upgrading of the sewer network system (piping) in Bekkersdal. The current sewer network system was last upgraded in the early 1970’s. With the growth in population and dolomite effect, the system started to deteriorate. The department let it be known that they put aside about R250m to renew and improve the sewer situation.
In responding to the waste management challenges of Bekkersdal, government will also be welcoming the City of Johannesburg’s cleaning intervention team who will be in Bekkersdal for 12 months to assist with garbage and refuse removal and collection. The announcement on the day, of the building of a new school in Bekkersdal was received with great enthusiasm by the community.
“Whilst these interventions are government-driven, they are also responding directly to the specific needs that were raised by the community itself. In the last few months we had many and critical meetings with the local leadership, and this service delivery improvement plan is the culmination of these intensive engagements. In a mass meeting with the community last month, we promised to come back with a tangible plan”, MEC Mamabolo said.
MEC Mamabolo further assured the community that this is just the beginning and more interventions will be delivered over time as part of the service delivery improvement plan. This will also include the handing over of new RDP houses.
“As government, we are elated that finally we can see eye to eye with our people in Bekkersdal and we are looking forward to a lasting relationship that will return peace permanently and move us away from a negative image of Bekkersdal”, MEC Mamabolo concluded.
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