GALLERY: Oakdene has a lot of challenges

“We are sick and tired of promises to follow up by Clr Michael Crichton. There’s never any follow-up!”

February 3, 2019

Julie Maule 4 minutes read

OVERGROWN: One of the stormwater drains.

OAKDENE residents are up in arms after promises not followed-up by the local Ward 56 councillor, Michael Crichton.

The COMARO CHRONICLE was taken on a tour of Oakdene by the chairperson of Oakdene Neighbourhood Watch (ONW) Tony Rodrigues, on January 30, as he pointed out disturbing issues.

“I don’t wish to harp on about past issues in this suburb but due to the absolute neglect of our councillor, Michael Crichton, I’m left having to.

“One of our resident’s was last year fined R1 000 for having tree branches on her pavement. How can that be when the pathways in Oakdene are completely overgrown with long grass and trees? Stormwater drains actually have trees growing out of them! Crichton didn’t do anything to assist the resident and we (members of ONW) went along to support her. The case was actually thrown out of court.

“Last year the koppie, which runs along the top of Soutpansberg Drive, caught alight because of all the overgrown grass which had become dry and brittle. This was after numerous requests last winter to Crichton to get it cleared. Residents phoned me begging for help and we called the fire brigade. We managed to contain the fire and stop it from jumping over into some of the residents’ gardens using hosepipes. Eventually, the fire brigade arrived after one and a half hours and Crichton pitched up to see what he could do,” said Rodrigues.

“If we don’t clear the pavements ourselves, nothing gets done. We’ve adopted a park area on the corner of Soutpansberg and Tafelberg drives and planted eight palm trees. We maintain the park and we water the trees ourselves. We’ve also erected a guard house with a stoned parking bay at the side. We’ve asked Crichton if he can assist with acquiring children’s playground equipment. No response! The river, which runs, or I should say barely runs, due to it being completely overgrown with plants and trees is leaking sewage. When asked for help, no response.

“We’ve also been asking about speed bumps for Soutpansberg Drive, no response.

“Our rates and taxes are going up but the property values in Oakdene are going down. This is because our councillor is not maintaining his ward.”

The residents are fed up and feel Oakdene is being put on the back burner.

“We are sick and tired of promises to follow up by Crichton. There’s never any follow-up.”

Comment from Michael Crichton, Councillor for Ward 56:

“Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I would like to start off by saying that I would like to thank Mr Rodrigues and his Oakdene Neighborhood Watch (ONW) for all they do for their suburb. I fully empathise with them and agree that there is currently a lot of challenges facing Oakdene, and I have been doing what I can to rectify the issues that exist in their suburb.

“I have not only engaged with the local depots about the issues in their suburb, but I’ve gone on a tour with the Urban Inspector through Oakdene, engaged with the regional director Irene Mafune, escalated various issues to the relevant MMC’s and I have engaged with the mayor’s office on some of the issues.

“Each time there’s been some successes but certainly not enough. One of the main issues departments have with delivery services is that most of them have budgetary issues and the R170-million backlog that the new administration inherited has certainly not helped this suburb’s cause. I also think that it is important for me to point out that the Municipal Systems Act prohibits a ward councillor from instructing officials and/or departments to perform certain tasks. We also do not receive budgets for our wards. But, we try our best to establish relationships with the various officials and departments in an attempt to get their best cooperation. Hence, while I understand the ONW’s frustrations, I disagree that is due to the ward councillor’s neglect, as I do everything that the law allows me to do to get services rendered to this community.

“It was brought to my attention that a resident received a R1 000 fine for cutting the tree branches outside of her house. I did meet with the resident to hear about what happened. However, as a ward councillor, it would be illegal for me to try and get her fine scrapped. That is why I am pleased to hear that the issue was dealt with in a court of law, as only a court has the power to overturn a fine that has been issued. I agree that the pruning of trees is a challenge and I am engaging with City Parks on a weekly basis on that issue.

“With regards to the issue of the fire, I got there as soon as I was informed about it. In response to the long turnaround time, I got the chairperson of the Section 79 safety committee, Clr Hilton Masera and the rest of his committee, to conduct an oversight visit of the Turffontein Fire Station. The concerns were noted and adopted by a report that was sent to council. MMC for public safety, councillor Michael Sun, now has a clear picture of the issues facing that fire station. I’ve also engaged with the EMS about clearing the vegetation in that koppie.

“I also engage with City Parks and JRA weekly about getting the grass on the sidewalks and in the river cleared. I think that it is fantastic that the ONW has adopted that park and is taking care of it. However, with regards to getting playground equipment there, my ward committee member Dianne Kilian has engaged with the depot but unfortunately, they don’t have the equipment at the moment.

“When it comes to the need for speed bumps in Soutpansberg Drive, that requires a traffic impact assessment to be done by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA). They have previously done impact assessments in Oakdene and I will request them to do it again.”

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