Community tables concerns before leadership

The community of Tembisa applauded the opportunity awarded to them to bring their problems before the Premier of Gauteng as part of the Ntirhisano Outreach Programme.

Many residents arrived to bring their service delivery problems before Members of the Executive Council (MEC) and Premier David Makhura at the Rabasotho Hall on March 10.

Mr Thulani Mdluli, a Tembisa resident, complained about the exorbitant amounts of money Tembisa residents have to pay for electricity and municipal services.

“The community must buy electricity directly from Eskom and that way it will be cheaper,” he said.

A number of attendees complained about youth unemployment and the Tembisa youth.

Mr Simon Mbhele also expressed his concern about Tembisa’s deteriorating environment.

The young man said he refurbished a park in Tembisa, to preserve the environment, from his own pocket.

Mr Mbele said there is no budget from the municipality to keep Tembisa parks well looked after, but instead the municipality kicks out the youth who make an effort to preserve these parks.

The youth appealed to Premier Makhura to speak to the council to create a conducive atmosphere for the youth to engage in business and to become entrepreneurs who invest in the green industry.

Member of the Executive Council Barbara Creecy spoke intensely on the subject of township economies.

She also gave tips to entrepreneurs on how to conduct business with government.

Ms Evon Masuku and her colleagues, who have been volunteering without pay to clean a police station since 2014, said they are happy because their problem was quickly attended to.

“Our presence here today helped us a lot. The six of us have volunteered for a long time and we did not receive a cent. We mentioned our problem to the MECs and the Premier and they promised to take action to resolve our problem,” said Ms Masuku.