With the end of the year looming, Ward 19 Clr Bill Rundle met with the NEWS to discuss his highlights and challenges of 2017.
“Overall, 2017 was quite a rough year. There weren’t many highlights and it was quite disappointing,” said Rundle.
His disappointment stems mainly from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s response to the flood damage of 2016.
Last year Edenvale endured one of its most severe floods.
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The floods inflicted damage to infrastructure across the town and the surrounding areas.
“The destruction caused by the floods deserved far more attention from the municipality,” said Rundle.
One area which received the brunt of the flood was Eastleigh. Businesses were forced to close and millions of rands were lost.
Following a lack of repair work on the Eastleigh Spruit, the Johannesburg High Court ruled against the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) on numerous occasions.
The EMM was ordered by the court to remediate the spruit. In November, this year, the EMM announced it had begun the process of remediating the spruit.
Also read: #Floods – Lack of maintenance has lead to a costly disaster
Despite his disappointments, 2017 did hold some positives for Rundle.
These included the reinstatement of the Ward 19 committee, with six of the 10 portfolios being filled.
Rundle’s greatest highlight, however, was the postponement of the Linksfield Mixed Use Development in August.
The development could see 4 500 residential properties being built on land around the Sizwe Tropical Diseases Hospital.
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The development was postponed earlier this year when a tribunal board noticed significant changes in the developer’s proposal. The developers were subsequently ordered to re-advertise their proposal.
“The postponement and re-advertisement period gave community members the opportunity to raise and submit additional concerns,” said Rundle.
