The meeting was held in Kya Sand Industrial Park and chaired by Ward 94 councillor John Mendelsohn. Some of the council departments which residents wanted answers from did not attend the meeting, namely Metro police, Joburg Water and City Power.
However, City Parks was on hand to give detailed responses and updates on all service delivery concerns. A representative from City Parks said they would add Lonehill Park into their budget proposal for next year, and they were also considering a proposal for the upgrade and restoration of Witkoppen Wetland Park.
A pressing issue for the Lonehill community is the clearance of Kariba weed from the Lonehill dam. Estate manager Doug Black said Rhodes University students were doing experimental treatments on the weed by introducing a special type of weevil, but this was only effective during summer and there needed to be maintenance all year round.
City Parks suggested the implementation of a Jozi@Work programme to aid in job creation, and Trevor Nel and George Joubert of the new ThinkCommunity initiative agreed to take over the project and meet on-site with the parks department to assess the work that needed to be done.
The service delivery issues involving the Johannesburg Roads Agency had not been resolved since the previous monthly meeting, but the representatives from the agency resolved to meet residents at the site of various problem areas to assess the situation. Many of the major issues, especially that regarding reckless driving in the ward were not addressed since the relevant departments were not represented.
Mendelsohn said he would write a letter to the MMCs which dealt with the various departments to expose those departments’ continual absence at 10 plus meetings.
Do you think residents need to take a proactive approach in dealing with service delivery or should it be the sole responsibility of council departments? Let Fourways Review know in the comments section below.
