Councillor’s meeting raises Alexandra’s services delivery issues
Councillor Sannie Mavhona’s meeting gave residents and representatives of municipal entities at a regional level a platform to raise service delivery challenges and hold each other accountable.
Worsening potholes, blocked storm water systems, and gaping excavations, these were some of the challenges raised during councillor Sannie Mavhona’s public meeting at the Multipurpose Centre in Alexandra on June 30.
The meeting brought together Ward 75 residents, and municipal entities including Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), Johannesburg Water (JW), City Power, Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Pikitup, and the housing department to tackle service delivery issues.
Read more: Ward 75 councillor hosts meeting to highlight service delivery challenges
During her address, Mavhona expressed concerns about challenges plaguing residents in her ward, and delays in addressing them. She pointed out the growing potholes in Ward 75, especially on 6th Avenue. She also raised the issue of blocked storm water systems on some streets. She stressed that she tried to get the matter resolved a couple times with no success.“We have a problem. I went after [JRA], telling them about a blocked storm water [system] on Second and Fourth avenues.
“We also have a lot of potholes. Sixth avenue is the worst. I reported it. I went [to JRA] a lot of times. JRA should pull up their socks.” Despite the shortfall, she believes that there will be improvement in her ward, since she will be working closely with JRA’s regional manager Khumo Diphoko.
Diphoko said she took a tour to familiarise herself with issues in Ward 75 before the meeting. She confirmed that she is aware of the challenges they are faced with, and added that some of those challenges can partly be attributed to public behaviour. “When people throw things into the storm water [system], it becomes blocked. Every day, I have teams working here, but after working, community members block the storm water [system] again,” she shared. She also expressed concerns about JRA employees getting threatened and attacked by some community members, noting that this makes it difficult for help to reach residents who need it.
Some residents raised complaints about open excavations that JW workers leave behind after doing their work. This was after Tshilidzi Dombo, the depot manager of JW, shared that, in instances where they had to dig or remove the pavement targeting underground pipes, they ensure they return the place to its former state. Dombo said they will investigate the issue of open excavations and fix it.
The municipal entities acknowledged their responsibility to provide services, and emphasised that, to deliver efficiently, they need the co-operation of the residents of Ward 75.
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