“We have a continuous problem of broken streetlights which has been going on for months,” says Mike, “and every time I try complain to the metro, they take it lightly.”
He says almost the entire street is left in darkness as a result of none of the streetlights working.
When the streetlights are fixed they die out shortly after, according to Mike.
“One minute the lights are working; one minute the lights are out,” he says.
He adds that most of the time it is the nearby factories that provide light, which is not sufficient.
“Sometimes we travel at night and get home quite late,” says Mike, “ so what about our safety?”
“Anything could happen while the car is in the driveway.”
Mike adds that he recently had an attempted break-in on his property but was luckily able to scare the perpetrators off when the alarm system was triggered.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that I have armed security, Lord knows what would have happened,” he adds.
Mike is also concerned about the potential tragedies that can result from the issue of broken streetlights.
“Cars come speeding over the bridge at such a high speed,” he says, “and if that happens and a pedestrian is crossing the road, that car will hit him or her and that will be fatal.”
Mike’s concerns extend to the fact that there is a railway track situated near his property, and pedestrians are able to cross from the railway site to residents’ homes.
“Imagine what could happen if one day you are being watched and someone comes from behind the railway site and attacks me,” he says.
Issues of litter, unkempt grass and informal settlers also affect Mike as he explains that he is not willing to clean the litter which has been thrown all around his property, near the railway site.
“I will not clean the pavement and sidewalks as that is the metro’s job,” he adds, “I am not here for that.”
“We pay taxes so why should we have to do the job of the metro?”
Mike feels that the metro is not accommodating of residents and not willing to help complainants with their problems.
“They have a ‘don’t-care attitude’ which makes them arrogant in their approach to problems,” he says.
Questions have been sent to the metro for comment.
