“We struggled with the broken streetlight for a long time, until a week ago, when the Ekurhuleni Metro eventually came to fix it,” says Dave.
“After a day, it stopped working again.”
The excavation site where the streetlight was fixed is said to have been left excavated by the metro, which has created a concern for the resident.
“The way in which they have done their job shows negligence and incompetence,” says Dave.
“Who is supposed to close the excavation site?”
Dave also raises the issue of the exposed wires from one of the streetlights on the same avenue, which he says poses a safety hazard for children in particular, as well as the manhole filled with water.
“Should the water from the flooding on the street come into contact with the lamp pole, it will create a deadly emission of sparks,” he says.
“Who will be held responsible then?”
One of the biggest frustrations Dave finds is with the lack of efficiency in which the metro takes calls and complaints from residents.
He says he always attempts to communicate with the metro, but he either gets no response or he gets an uncertain response from the call operators.
“Sometimes we don’t even get a reference number the first time we call,” he says,”only after a few attempts, a willing operator will give a reference number.”
“What is the point of a reference number anyway, if they do not attend to the matters reported?”
“We do not want lip service. We want to see results.”
Questions have been sent to the metro for comment.
