Tembisa community members voiced their service delivery concerns at Sam Hlalele Community Hall on November 23.
Goodness Nokulunga Nhlapho, divisional head operations of customer relationship management (CRM) and project manager of Siyaqhuba, said MMCs joined Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo in the Siyaqhuba programme.
They looked at service delivery issues that were identified by the Community Development Workers of wards 10, 11 and 12.
“We focused mainly on the issues of Ward 10.
“We have resolved an issue of a 96-year-old gogo who stays in an asbestos-roofed house.
“We have also solved an issue of an extremely abusive brother who allegedly comes from prison. What we have resolved to do as the City of Ekurhuleni is to get our team of social workers to come and look at possibly removing the man from the family to a rehab centre because they complained that he takes drugs and abuses them.
“We are also looking into rebuilding that home as part of celebrating the Mandela centenary. We want to plant a vegetable garden for them and fix their toilet,” said Nhlapho.
Nhlapho said as a temporary measure the Department of Water and Sanitation was going to provide them with a mobile toilet.
She said the last home the team visited was occupied by a 27-year-old man who has no electricity at his house.
“The energy department will ensure that the house gets electricity.
“The economic development department will also help to find employment for the young man. He has a family of about three children and the youngest is about two weeks old,” said Nhlapho.
She said the city will renovate that house.
Community members in the concerned wards were unhappy about a number of issues, particularly the high electricity tariffs.
Community leader Joseph Matlaila, from Ward 12 in Phomolong, said they were not satisfied with the answers from the minister and the MMCs because many people have no access to electricity due to their indigent status.
He said the city initially told community members it would not count the number of rooms in their yards to determine whether they qualified for indigent status. However, the city had backtracked on that decision, he claimed.
“They failed to give us proper answers.
“I am also not happy about the lack of access to electricity in squatter camps.
“The city promised to provide temporary electricity, which it failed to do.
“When the residents connect their own electricity, the city sends in EMPD to come and disconnect the electricity,” complained Matlaila.
