The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) to reimburse residents for not collecting refuse recently, and for failing to deliver basic services during the recent strike that lasted several weeks.
According to Patrick Otto, DA Ward 7 chairperson, by Saturday, 5 October, the petition had received 1 000 signatures supporting the move. It has already been submitted to the municipality.
“The reason for the petition is that tax-payers paid for refuse removal that was not done, therefore we are demanding a credit on our next municipal accounts on behalf of the residents,” Otto said.
Otto went on to say that for the last six weeks, not only did residents within Rand West face health hazards due to heaps of garbage lying in their front yards, there also was a shortage of water and electricity that affected many.
“We will be launching an online petition as well for those who could not make it on 5 October. This is a way for us to take a step against the municipality because service delivery is bad.
“We are paying a lot of money for many of these services but we do not know where the money goes. We are even prepared to take further steps if this issue is not addressed, even if it means we have to talk to the president of the country,” Otto added.