“I would like to know, why do they send people to come and fix a problem if they do not know how?”
Johan Rheeders of Greenhills was one of the Randfonteiners who expressed frustration during a public meeting with the Rand West City Council at the Greenhills Sport Stadium last Thursday evening (21 June).
High municipal rates and taxes, lack of services, lack of urgency from municipal workers, rising unemployment, deteriorating infrastructure, nepotism, bankruptcy and lack of maintenance are among the many issues that are angering the community.
Those attending the meeting who were disappointed that the Executive Mayor, Mzi Khumalo was a no-show at the meeting, directed their dissatisfaction at the representatives of the municipality.
Rheeders said in cases where a simple problem can easily be fixed, someone is making money by using people without the required skills or knowledge to do the job.
Rachel Kgosana asked where the municipal by-laws applied as, she said, “We as residents are having problems. Sooner or later there will be drug peddling in this area.”
Kgosana said even a bigger problem is that no one comes to their assistance. “We are always sent from pillar to post whenever we go to the municipal office to lodge complaints,” she said.
Other residents also complained about the level of service shown by the municipal officers, saying that when they visit municipal offices, officials are always eating at their work stations without attending to them.
“When you go to their offices, they are always sitting around, playing on their phones without anyone willing to help. We want to know what our taxes are being used for,” Kgosana added.
Helikon Park resident, Louisa Douglas said Randfontein has become a pigsty and is almost in ruins.
“The grass is never cut and nothing is being done. It is just filthy. I hate staying here, but I have no choice. We are paying rates, but what are we paying for?” Douglas asked.
Willie Mangena of Colemborg Park said, “I want to know if the municipality has the budget to handle what is happening in Randfontein, because it may not help us to always come here and hold these meetings.
“The municipality needs to introduce systems where we are able to trace its progress. For example, there is a pothole in Culemborg Park that is always being fixed. How is it possible that this one and almost every other pothole need fixing every six months?”
Mangena added that the municipality must be ready to work with the public to resolve the issues. If not, problems will never be resolved, residents will remain disgruntled and they will resort to protests.
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