Slovoville residents address concerns at DA led meeting
Frustrated residents of Slovoville took turns addressing their grievances at a community meeting led by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday evening.
The meeting attended by Ward 53 candidate, August Mohale and representatives from the DA was aimed at addressing crime and community safety concerns in the area.
Residents raised complaints about service delivery and development in the area. They said the community was tired of empty promises and wanted immediate change.
Gugulethu Dina, a resident who stepped forward to speak during the meeting said he hoped the meeting will bear fruits.”I came to the meeting today and I am happy that the leadership of the DA was here to engage with community. My biggest concern is that we want to see change take place in this area. Many of the young people in Slovo are jobless so, we are calling on companies that are nearby like the mine to assist by ensuring that the youth gets employment or training opportunities for skills development. We hope the DA will take this mater forward,” he said.
Dina added, “As a community member, I am happy about this initiative of engaging with the community to find solutions. I am pleading that we don’t get forgotten once we put them in the councillor’s office because it’s easy to make promises to us and not deliver.”
Concerns of high unemployment rate, drug abuse and lack of police visibility were among the top priority issues raised to the delegation of DA from the City of Johannesburg and Legislature.
Candidate Mohale said the purpose of the meeting was to engage with the community and share some of the party’s plans to address concerns within the ward.
Mohale said he intends to priorities police visibility and the formation of policing structures to counter the high crime rate.
“I want to re-establish and enforce the importance of Community Police Forums (CPF) in the area and broader Ward 53. This will be able to assist our immediate community. We want to ensure a safe community – where people do not live in fear of criminals. We will also engage for satellite police station in the area, which will be able to service the community day and night,” he said.
Dr Ntombi Khumalo, Deputy Shadow Minister of Human Settlement conceded that some of the issues could not be solved in one day.
“Some issues will require going through all the legislative processes that are in place and we will ensure that we drive that,” Khumalo added.
