Farmall residents slam ward councillor for ‘vanishing’ on service delivery
Farmall residents are fed up, saying the ward councillor keeps ‘vanishing’ while roads crumble, water leaks, and illegal dumping turn their area into a landfill.
“Councillors are the elected representatives of the people and are mandated as elected representatives to make decisions on behalf of their constituencies.”
This was said by Rosalee Nel, an angry Farmall resident.
She continued, “Councillors need to carry out their duties in a transparent and accountable way. Their actions must be visible to the public so that the public (or the party to which the councillor belongs) can object when it feels their interests are not being adequately represented. To find out what is happening at the council level, the public has the right to attend council meetings, and get records and reports provided by the council.”
Farmall residents say they are tired of being ignored by their ward councillor, Rufas Maswazi, accusing him of failing to show up for meetings while they struggle daily with pothole-riddled roads, illegal dumping, ongoing water leaks, and rising crime.
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Nel said residents have repeatedly reported service delivery issues to the city, but without the councillor’s support and intervention, their challenges remain unresolved.
“We need a personal visit to the area to assess the situation, professional road rehabilitation with proper compaction, visible ‘No Dumping’ signage, a municipal clean-up of illegal dumping sites, and immediate attention to the ongoing water leaks,” Nel said.
Residents said the poor gravel roads are nearly impassable after rain, leaving even refuse trucks unable to access plots, while private security companies struggle to patrol effectively in what residents describe as a ‘high-crime area.’
Illegal dumping, worsened by trucks linked to a composting business in the area, has left sections of Farmall looking like a landfill, residents said.
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“When the grader comes out, they scrape the banks, causing more erosion, and move the sand onto the road, making it muddy. The grader also pulls up water pipes, and we have had ongoing water leaks for more than two years.”
Nel also expressed frustration with the councillor, saying he failed to attend a meeting scheduled with her and did not send an apology
Fourways Review reached out to Maswazi, who said he was aware of the issues in Farmall and had reported them to the relevant departments.
Also read: Farmall residents demand urgent road repairs
“Regarding communication, there might be a misunderstanding between residents as I have WhatsApp groups where I communicate with residents, but for Farmall, I don’t have one, and I will work with residents to resolve that,” said Maswazi.
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