The chief whip of the council, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, has warned against the illegal occupation of municipal land and houses, saying the local government must act swiftly against the perpetrators.
Dlabathi was speaking during the Ekurhuleni syndicated broadcast hosted by the City’s communications and branding department in Bedfordview on April 19.
The syndicated broadcast is engineered by the City of Ekurhuleni, with the aim of ensuring a broader engagement with the wider society of Ekurhuleni, via community radio stations across the region. The Siyaqhuba municipal radio programme is broadcast once a month.
Recently, there have been some land grab incidents reported in and around Ekurhuleni.
In his appeal, Dlabathi advised the residents to be patient with the municipal processes, which will ensure that those who have registered for their houses, and those applications already approved, are being prioritised in the allocation process.
In the region, the community radio stations command an estimated listenership of above 450 000 combined.
The municipality plans to build 159 000 service stands.
“Twenty informal settlements were electrified in 19 months. We have provided over 4 000 serviced stands. The results are there for everyone to see,” Dlabathi said.
However, the callers could not miss the opportunity to raise their own concerns regarding some service delivery issues in their wards.
Siyabonga Mapete, from Ward 45 Somalia Park in Vosloorus, said the local community is not benefitting in the form of employment from the projects that are taking place in their areas. He further complained about the unbearable chemical toilets.
Sechaba from Ward 64 said the municipality has good plans and policies, but the implementation is poor.
“Why are the people who are given the opportunities and tenders not being monitored?” he asked.
“In Extension 10 of Ward 84 in Tsakane, we want electricity,” Mfokeng Linda said.
Recently, the residents of Ext Nine and 10 were in conflict regarding illegal electricity connections when some transformers were destroyed.
“All these matters raised on this platform will be reported to the necessary departments and they will be followed up as part of our oversight responsibility as council and councillors in our respective wards,” he said.
He further encouraged the residents to be active citizens by participating in community meetings.
Speaking about maladministration and corruption he said: “Without hesitation, all acts and deeds which are intentionally undermining good governance and clean administration must be responded to objectively by the established structures within the council.”
So far, 20 informal settlements in the city have been electrified since the new administration came into office.
The City has 118 informal settlements and has committed to electrifying all of them within this term of office.
On April 20, Dlabathi attended the City’s press club at Germiston Lake where he had an opportunity to engage with various media practitioners on issues of service delivery, governance and state coalition in the City.
He told the media that the current administration is presiding over a stable local government.
“Our commitment to good governance and clean administration is a standing commitment.”
