IF the state of the Kempton Park central business district (CBD) is anything to go by, creating an aerotropolis out of the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality is no more than a pipe dream.
Tracey Butler, DA ward councillor, said: “In fact, a ‘trashotropolis’ would be a far more appropriate name and as the official opposition, the DA demands that the metro takes serious action to fix the problems.
Site visits to business owners in Isando, Spartan and the CBD painted a dismal picture of service delivery in what is meant to be the heart of the aerotropolis, Butler said.
“On a daily basis, owners of businesses, which generate large revenues for the metro, have to deal with dilapidated or condemned buildings, collapsed and non-functioning storm water drains, tar roads covered with sand, potholes, non-existent or poor road markings, illegal posters and vandalised electrical boxes. The list behind the degeneration of the area is endless, the most serious being the constant power outages which happen daily somewhere in the metro.
“Illegal traders work in very poor conditions, despite the numerous attempts to get them into formal trading posts, and run-down taxi ranks are what the employees of these businesses routinely have to deal with.
“The DA is warning once again that businesses could move elsewhere in an attempt to avoid the embarrassment of having to host international guests in such an appallingly maintained environment,” Butler said.
“It is unacceptable that business owners are ignored by senior metro officials. One owner gave up requesting meetings after six months of no replies from the metro.
“Three years have gone by with none of the major projects even being addressed and the DA says it is high time the mayor paid a visit to the heart of his planned ‘pet project’. He baptised Ekurhuleni as an aerotropolis over two years ago with much fanfare and ambitious plans to attract investment and create jobs. Nothing looks less likely given the current state of the city.
Kempton Express took a drive through the CBD and some industrial areas and what we saw was shocking.
