Residents’ association accuses councillor of lacking
ORCHARDS – Residents have made several demands including that Fisher follows up on all matters brought to his attention.
Ward 74 councillor David Fisher has responded to the accusations made by the Norwood Orchards Residents’ Association (Nora) claiming he is ‘useless’.
In an open letter posted on the social media platform, Love Norwood, the association accused Fisher of not wanting to attend to their issues.
They claim that the councillor has failed to attend to their public meetings, does not respond to their emails and has also misled them about the cause of flooding in their suburbs.
“Fisher arranged a public meeting to discuss flooding in Orchards, giving a mere four days’ notice, and arranging it in the middle of a weekday when most residents [who work] cannot attend, in December 2017,” wrote Nora in a letter.
“Called out on this, he promised to make available all documentation presented at the meeting, and then arrange another with proper notice in January 2018. Asked to provide information on the meeting in December 2017, he first ignored requests, and then stated that we could read the North Eastern Tribune.”
The association claims that Fisher has now arranged another public meeting with a week’s notice, and failed to notify them directly, instead, they had to find out via other channels.
“In addition to this, we believe that the City [under the Johannesburg Development Agency] is proposing to daylight part of the Orange Grove Spruit as an answer to the flooding issues.
“This makes no sense whatsoever, as Cheltondale is downstream from the area impacted in Orchards, and will have no bearing on the dire situation at Hilson Bridge,” added Nora in the letter.
In his response, Fisher acknowledges Nora’s frustrations over the many issues and the feeling that they are not being responded to timeously.
He, however, does not agree with the accusation that he is unresponsive, does not answer emails, does not attend meetings and does not inform the residents, adding that many other residents’ associations and residents express the opposite view.
He said his ward covers a number of suburbs and he attempts to prioritise in terms of the impact on communities. “It is physically impossible for the ward councillor to attend personally to every issue in the ward.
“As a member of the legislature, I rely on the administration and the City of Johannesburg’s state-owned entities to resolve and execute the residents’ requests.”
The Orchards storm water upgrade is the culmination of a report that he wrote on 13 November 2016, said Fisher, concluding that following the flooding in November, he has vigorously pursued the problems.
Details: David Fisher 082 822 6070.
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