Residents in Ward 71 have raised quite a few municipal issues that are causing them frustration, resulting in the Record knocking on the ward councillor’s door, looking for some answers.
Two of the biggest issues raised by residents are the illegal dumping in Davidsonville and the huge number of illegal electricity connections in the Princess informal settlement and surrounding areas.
One of the Davidsonville residents said, “We need this illegal dumping site on the corner of Acropolis and Socrates Avenues to be closed down, as residents are dumping everything – from nappies to to domestic rubbish here. They even come and empty their rubbish bins! This is a huge problem, as it is attracting rats and mice,” she said.
René Benjamin, the ward councillor, confirmed that she is aware of this happening, but at the end of the day, it is the residents that are not taking on the responsibility of ensuring their suburb stays clean. “There has been a community clean up in the past, and on numerous occasions Politico has been out in the streets to clean up all of the rubbish. Pikitup has also been doing educational programmes with the residents on how to dispose of your waste in the right way. We will be targeting Davidsonville during our A Re Sebetseng clean up day on 28 October. Details will be communicated to all, but it will only be successful if residents come out in their numbers,” she said.
A concerned Witpoortjie resident wanted to know if the illegal electricity connections in the Princess Informal settlement will ever be addressed and said, “Not only are they blatantly doing the connections in broad daylight without any action taken against them, but are once again digging up the road in front of the plumbing business in Albertina Sisulu Road causing the wires to stick up in the street. The illegal connections, paired with the extra shacks going up on the opposite side of the road, is creating a dangerous situation, not only for the people living there, but also for pedestrians as well as commuters going to the railway station,” she said.
“I understand residents’ frustration with this situation, but, when they see these things happening, they should immediately contact the authorities and City Power and report what’s going on.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department must also be informed when shacks are being erected, as they need to enforce the relevant bylaws,” René said.She added that this is a very volatile situation, in which residents have been threatened and their homes and businesses burnt to the ground. The staff employed by the entities responsible for the removal of these connections also live in constant fear for their lives.
“This is a vicious circle and until the housing issue is resolved and electricity provided for each home, it’s likely to continue. City Power cannot do any removals without the assistance and back up of the Public Order Police, as they are threatened and shot at as well. This needs to be a coordinated operation and it takes some time to get all entities on board,” she said.
She concluded by saying, “It remains the responsibility of the residents to follow up on any municipal issues. The ward councillors can assist by escalating matters where needed. It is very important to get a reference number in all cases; that way the query can be tracked, escalated and resolved much quicker.”
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