Ward 91 Clr Desmond Mckenzie reflects on 2023
“We will continue to press departments to resolve issues and deliver quality, excellent and effective services to our residents and communities. With no authority or control over any department, responses from the various departments were not always forthcoming.”
As the year comes to an end, Ward 91 Clr Desmond Mckenzie said 2023 presented many challenges and navigating the stormy waters was not always easy.
He said the CoE’s inability to deliver services was simply passed onto ward councillors, who are expected to deliver, but had lack of authority to do so.
“Residents are extremely dissatisfied with the current level of service delivery. The department does not communicate timeously for us to inform the residents.
“We as councillors can merely ask and often need to beg and exhaust council processes such as written questions, debates and motions and the media to get things done,” said Mckenzie.
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He said issues varied from multiple daily power outages to the inability to repair burst pipes and the constant theft and vandalism of substations and cables added to the frustrations of residents.
Other issues faced by those in Ward 91 included a lack of interest in securing substations and many unattended potholes.
“The city has no plans to repair streetlights, which poses a significant security risk. Vandalism of streetlights is continuing on a daily basis, causing residents to live in fear since their streets in in complete darkness.”
He added that the continuous deterioration of infrastructure and lack of maintenance of parks, open spaces and municipal buildings remained a major source of concern.
“We will continue to press departments to resolve issues and deliver quality, excellent and effective services to our residents and communities.
“With no authority or control over any department, responses from the various departments were not always forthcoming.
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“Only one of our IDP priorities, the resurfacing of Mooifontein Road, which is a high mobility main road connecting Norkem Park and Birchleigh North, has been implemented. We hope that more roads will be repaired in 2024,” he said.
Mckenzie said that other challenges the ward faces included the lack of by-law enforcement, illegal dumping and uncontrolled illegal activities by vagrants outside the Norkem Park transfer station.
“The crumbling infrastructure has caused compounded issues,” said Mckenzie.
He urged the residents, ward committees and all admins to have a joyful festive season full of love and happiness.
“We need to remember that we need to be responsible and safe. Don’t drink and drive. I want to encourage residents to continue reporting service delivery issues and for everyone to work together to ensure that residents receive the services for which they pay,” he said.
