Giving her end-of-year wrap, Ward 18 Ald Heather Hart described 2025 as marked by ever-decreasing levels and quality of service delivery.

She said that, despite the decrease in service delivery, Ward 18 is still one of the best and cleanest wards in the City of Ekurhuleni.

Comparing 2025 to previous years, Hart said, the depots still delivered on their mandates.

“This year saw Roads depot’s budget fall far short of its needs, with a budget of R4m for eight wards instead of at least R6m for just Edenvale Wards 18 and 19 alone.

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Water and Sanitation found itself unable at times to fix basic water leaks because stores did not have the correct clamp sizes.

“Parks would not have been able to deliver any grass cutting, tree trimming, or branch removal if it weren’t for the assistance given by Essentially Edenvale, with Energy proving to be the only depot resilient to the cutbacks thanks to the excellence of its management and teams at the local level,” said Hart.

Hart said without a doubt the biggest highlight was the repair of the road infrastructure collapse in Illiondale at the corner of Hubert Matthew and Laurie Road, followed by the clean-up and revamp of Van Riebeeck Avenue from Horwood Street to R24 by Essentially Edenvale.

She said the allocation of R20m over the medium term for the upgrade of the Edenvale Swimming Pool was indeed a welcome surprise, with St Andrew’s Bridge still on the IDP.

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Another success was getting barriers installed along the R24. Still, they stopped right at the off-ramp, which was the most critical, so this will remain on one of the projects for 2026, as well as the joint project by First Fire Management and Essentially Edenvale, which saw fencing replaced on the Main Road Bridge, which had been washed away in the 2021 floods.

Other highlights were the clean-up of The Homestead on Mandela Day, which has led to the formation of an NPC with a view to restoring The Homestead to its former glory, and the resurfacing of First Avenue, Second Street, St James, and Driefontein roads.

The decoration of the Eastleigh Taxi Rank exterior walls by very talented graffiti artists led by Scott Cocking of the Rustic Barrel was also celebrated.

Hart mentioned the clean-up of the Molly Vincent Bird Sanctuary, currently invaded by recyclers and vagrants, by the Highway Gardens Air Scouts’ Matthew Middlewick.

Both projects fall under the auspices of Essentially Edenvale.

Hart stated that Ward 18 committee member for women and children, Michelle dos Santos, and committee member for environment, Lisa Atkins of Essentially Edenvale, extended a sincere thank you to the community for the generosity and support shown throughout the year for their various women’s empowerment and child support projects.

“These projects would not have been possible without the kindness and willingness of community members to give so freely.

“Thanks to these donations, they were able to collect and distribute sewing machines, fabric, patterns, clothing, toys, and essential baby items to support a variety of NGOs and community-based organisations working on the ground.

“These resources have played a vital role in empowering women through the skills development programme Vuka, and in providing comfort, dignity, and practical support to vulnerable children and families.

“These contributions directly enabled the success of the women’s sewing and skills development initiatives, as well as outreach work supporting hospitals, child protection units, and organisations responding to urgent social needs within our community.

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“We are deeply grateful to our community for standing with us, believing in these initiatives, and helping us turn compassion into action. Together, we continue to build a stronger, more caring Edenvale,” said Hart.

Plans for 2026

Speaking about her plans for 2026, Hart said that, being an election year, most of our energy will be expended on convincing our supporters to ‘get out and vote.

She said she will also continue to drive the lack of cement slabs for fixing dangerous, broken stormwater drain covers, which make many parts of Ward 18 look like bomb sites.

With the support of the Illiondale community, Hart will continue the fight to rehabilitate the Illiondale Wetland, which, despite being included in the Ward 18 IDP, has never been properly funded.

She said attention must be given to the numerous blowouts of stormwater cement casings causing ‘sinkholes’ throughout the ward, with particular emphasis on the one near the Eastleigh Taxi Rank, which affects the entire stormwater line back to Palliser Road, one on High Road and Station Road, and 2nd Street and Fifteenth Avenue.

We will also be driving a petition to replace the asbestos water lines in High Road, Second Street, Terrace Road, and Smith Avenue.

Hart said another focus in 2026 must be illegal land use, which continues to degrade the ward.

“I appeal to all residents, particularly ratepayers and property owners, to take notice of new developments in their areas and ensure that they are in line with bylaws.

“Unfortunately, too often these are escalated to long after the contravention has become almost impossible to rectify,” explained Hart.

Hart and the Ward 18 committee hoped the community would have a safe and prosperous festive season.

“I want to give them hope for 2026. If we as a community stand together, we can continue improving Edenvale, project by project, until we can be proud to call it home,” she said.