Protea residents excited about possible 15 000+ jobs to created
Job creation in Ward 13.
Ward 13 councillor, George Mahlangu, told residents that a project that has the potential of creating 14 000 temporary jobs and 10 000 permanent job opportunities is set to get underway in a few months at a public meeting held at Protea Glen Library last Sunday morning.
Addressing a packed hall, Mahlangu noted that the Masingita project which will see the construction of a regional mall in ward 13 was on track. He, however, noted that the construction of the mall did not guarantee permanent jobs for unemployed Protea Glen residents.
“The problem is that shops [that will occupy the mall] come with their own staff because they have casual and temporary staff working in other branches so they need to be given a chance to be permanent as well. Their trade unions are also fighting for them so there is a big contestation in this case,” Mahlangu elaborated.
The councillor also announced that the ward would be submitting a request to rename Impala Road to show solidarity with Palestine by renaming it to the names of one of the Palestinian struggle heroes.
“Mandela said we will never be free until Palestine is free…if it wasn’t for the countries that showed solidarity with us [during apartheid] we wouldn’t be where we are today. We need to honour those who are at the forefront of the Palestinian struggle,” he said.
Electricity continues to be an issue that plagues the residents of Protea Glen phases one and two. Protea Urban News reported on an RMU box in Phase One in May that was leaking oil and posing a danger to the lives of residents who lived near it.
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It was reported last week that the RMU box exploded. A new box was subsequently installed according to Mahlangu. Protea Glen’s problems with electricity, however, go beyond dilapidated infrastructure. An elderly woman who resides in phase one told of the swindling she faced at the hands of people claiming to be Eskom technicians.
Anna Ntobo conceded that she was buying electricity from an illegal vendor who was giving her double the units she was supposed to receive. Ntobo explained that the technicians came to her home to do an audit and discovered this. She was subsequently charged a R500 fine by these ‘technicians’.
“Since July these men have been coming to my house every two weeks to get that R500. They came again on September 27, it was a Thursday. I am a pensioner, I can’t afford this. I don’t know what to do anymore,” Ntobo said.
She furthermore noted that they were targeting pensioners as they were not well informed of Eskom’s procedures.
Ward committee member for safety, Freeman Msomi urged residents not to give money to anyone whose identity they were not sure of and without receiving a receipt.
Residents suggested an educational campaign in an effort to reduce illegal dumping as they were not sure how Pikitup expected waste to be segregated, which is one of the reasons their dustbins did not get taken out sometimes according to a resident, Solly Motaung.
Mahlangu will convene the next meeting in the first quarter of 2019.
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