Ward 90 councillor expresses hope for 2022
PARKMORE – Ward 90 councillor Martin Williams gives an overview of 2021.
Ward 90 councillor Martin Williams has provided an overview of 2021 for Ward 90:
In terms of capital expenditure, Ward 90 was fortunate in 2021 to be allocated a number of water pipe replacement projects, mainly in Parkmore but also in Hyde Park.
The Parkmore effort was huge, with seven phases covering most of the suburb. An eighth phase will commence shortly. Regrettably, despite efforts by the suburb manager and me, much of the goodwill which this welcome project could have generated was dissipated because of poor communication.
Residents will put up with a lot of inconveniences if they are kept informed. If the water is off, they should at least be told how long the outage will last, and the cause.
This has been a challenging year, overshadowed by Covid-19 lockdown and its effects on entities such as the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Joburg Water and City Power.
During the higher levels of lockdown the JRA, for example, had to operate with a reduced number of teams. This is one reason why there is such a backlog of reinstatements. And why Joburg Water and City Power struggled to cope with outages.
Potholes are a different matter. From May, the Pothole Patrol sponsored by insurers DialDirect and Discovery came to the rescue. They have made a difference. At the May 3 Pothole Patrol launch on William Nicol Drive in Glenadrienne, it was my task as ward councillor to welcome and thank (then) Mayor Geoff Makhubo, Transport MMC Nonhlanhla Makhuba and sponsors. I used the opportunity to suggest that corporate sponsorship would also be welcome in finding solutions to the issues around displaced people in the area.
Within Ward 90, several community leaders are showing an ever-increasing interest in constructive approaches to homelessness. If we can mobilise the available resources, 2022 could see us making progress on this front. 2022 could be a good year.”
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