Ward 56 councillor Michael Crichton took an opportunity to wish the residents of Ward 56 a happy and prosperous new year.
“I think it is fair to say that 2020 was a tough year for many people with the outbreak of Covid-19 and lockdown that followed. This was certainly an unprecedented situation that affected both lives and livelihoods,” explained Crichton.
He said the new year has also started on a relatively tough note with the Covid-19 cases increasing and the country going into a level three lockdown at least until January 15.
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“Having said this, I am confident that things will eventually get better. Hopefully, the much-touted Covid-19 vaccine will be released soon and that will help to reduce the infection rate.
“My new year resolves are to continue to serve my residents to the best of my ability and to continue to fight for the services that they deserve and therefore would like to share my 2021 wish list for the various municipal entities:
Wish list
• City Power
“Frequent power outages have been a problem over the years, with last year probably being one of the worst with regards to lengthy power outages.
“The local City Power Reuven Depot that supplies the Southern suburbs blamed this chiefly on illegal connections and backyard dwellings that overload the grid.
“They claim to have conducted an audit in this regard but that the report is now sitting with the acting CEO of City Power.
“I am going to place as much pressure on City Power as possible to release this report and to make everyone connected to the grid legally compliant so that the infrastructure can be upgraded or maintained accordingly.
“Cable theft and the vandalising of substations also appear to be a big issue in terms of power outages, and in this regard I plan on facilitating a meeting between City Power, City Power Risk Control, the JMPD, the SAPS, and various security companies to see how best we can combat this scourge.
“I will also be putting a greater amount of pressure on City Power to keep the streetlights on.”
• JHB Water
“With the frequent power outages, the water supply is often affected because the reservoirs rely on electricity for their pumps to work.
“In this regard, I am going to place pressure on JHB Water to finalise the tender to install a generator at the Forest Hill water tower.
“It must be noted though that they have advertised this tender on four previous occasions with it failing each time due to the bidders either overvaluing or undervaluing their respective bids.”
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• By-Laws
“One cannot deny that there is a problem with law and law enforcement in the ward, especially when it comes to issues such as illegal dumping, noise pollution, and public drinking to name a few.
“Last year I was in touch with the regional JMPD officers on an almost daily basis trying to resolve the issues.
“I pledge to continue to do that and to get them to maintain law and order.
“If we can start clamping down on the smaller crimes this will start to have an impact on the more serious crimes facing our society.”
• Grass cutting
“One of my biggest frustrations over the years as a councillor has been the lack of grass cutting taking place on the sidewalks.
“This may seem like a minor issue, but it is profoundly serious when you consider that it forces pedestrians to walk in the road and risk being knocked over by cars.
“It is also an easy hiding place for criminals, especially those that mug people of their wallets and handbags.
“Presently there’s confusion as to whether the budget for this aspect of grass cutting has been allocated to the City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) or the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA).
“I am going to continue to push for answers in this regard.”
• JRA
“I am going to continue to place pressure on the JRA to fix the potholes, paint the road markings, clear the stormwater drains, replace stolen manhole covers, and scaffold the roads and road reserves that have overgrown vegetation.”
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