‘There is nothing wrong with residents cleaning their neighbourhoods’ – City of Ekurhuleni
"The grass cutting schedules are based on the availability of resources and main roads are maintained on an as-and-when-required basis. Funds for grass cutting cycles have been exhausted for the 2021 financial year.”
Kemptonians have begged the question for weeks now: why did it take so long for CR Swart Drive to be maintained in terms of the long grass, sidewalks and island?
Some parts of CR Swart Drive, which stretches 3.5km in length, have been maintained by both volunteering residents and the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) in the past weeks.
“The grass cutting schedules are based on availability of resources and main roads are maintained on an as-and-when-required basis,” said metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
“Regarding outstanding services, such as the trimming of the bushes and overgrown sidewalks will be tended to, Dlamini answered: “Funds for grass cutting cycles has been exhausted for 2021 financial year.”
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Safe to say that, in layman’s terms, this won’t transpire in the foreseeable future.
But does the City agree that the lack of maintenance and long grass disturbs the visibility of cars and pedestrians in terms of criminal activity or safety precaution?
“The City seeks to provide services to all residents with limited resources and criminality cannot be attributed to long grass only.”
The City’s message towards those who have been victims of smash-and-grabs or robberies on CR Swart Drive was the following: “The City has deployed resources through the EMPD to deal with incidents of criminality, to complement the work of the SAPS. Rooting out criminality is also a societal responsibility requiring everyone to lend a hand.”
It also turns out that the City takes no responsibility for any damages or claims that result due to motor vehicle accidents or smash and grabs and theft.
When asked whether it has received any complaints from law enforcement such as SAPS or EMPD about the lack of service delivery on CR Swart Drive, Dlamini replied: “No.”
Regarding multiple volunteering groups in Kempton Park maintaining certain areas themselves, he said there is nothing wrong with citizens cleaning their neighbourhood.
“It is encouraged and partnerships are also encouraged.”
Ward councillors in Kempton Park feel that the metro is passing the buck once the area has been cleaned by volunteers and the mero ticks it off its list of things to do.
Dlamini claims that this is untrue and that the City still allocates resources to these areas where residents participate in cleaning their surroundings.
At the Express, we want to ensure consistent and quality feedback from the City in response to our media queries. To monitor this the Express is introducing a 5-star rating system.
Two stars will equate to all questions answered (either direct or indirect); two stars will equate to the relevancy of answers to questions posed, and the remaining star will be attributed to adherence to the deadline for comment.
As Zweli Dlamini served in this accord, the Express stands by its original rating of this reply with 0 stars.
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