Officials from various city departments gathered in Parktown North in preparation of an Integrated Visible Service Delivery Operation that would be carried out in the community on the day.
The operation was organised by Region B’s Citizen Relations Urban Management.
According to an urban inspector Moipone Thini-Lekala, the operation was used as a tool of facilitating and addressing the challenge of service delivery breakdowns within the community.
The operation utilised the services of the Metro police, Joburg Water, Pikitup, the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg’s Emergency Services, as well as Environmental Health and Development Planning.
Chairperson of the Parktown North Residents’ Association, Lee-Ann Louverdis, arrived in the morning to meet all the role-players and to communicate what she and other residents felt were problematic areas.
“We as the Residents’ Association have logged 280 service calls since October 2013 and we are hoping that today some of these issues will be addressed,” she said.
“We are encouraged by the response that we see from the City of Joburg but we can only hope that their presence will be translated into action.”
Thini-Lekala said the Parktown North Residents’ Association had done so much in the area and the effective communication by Louverdis had assisted in making their job much easier.
“Lee-Ann and her team are very enthusiastic and always readily available to get things done,” said Thini-Lekala.
The various departments maintained visibility on the day as Metro police enforced bylaws, including the illegal parking problems on 3rd Avenue; the Johannesburg Roads Agency worked on filling the potholes in the area; City Parks personnel cut grass; City Power fixed street lights; and Emergency Services attended to fire hydrants, as well as missing meter and manhole covers.