The White River Ratepayers and Residents Association (WRRA) called the meeting due to worries that new ward boundaries would split the town into two parts and merge Msholozi with the adjoining section.
Their fears were put to rest when representatives of the Municipal Demarcation Board informed attendees that 95 per cent of White River (Ward 30) would remain the same, and around 300 residents would be “moved” to the adjoining Ward 14. This was due to the fact that Ward 30’s numbers exceeded the maximum number of residents it could maintain to effectively manage it.
As the board worked on voter numbers, the WRRA urged all residents to register at the IEC to ensure that the numbers were a true reflection of the town’s population.
Cllr Trudie Morgan then had a chance to talk about the White River Clinic, which was a bone of contention for many. It is run by the provincial health department but housed in a municipal building, which created a lot of problems.
The clinic was reportedly a neglected facility and experienced medication shortages as many of the surrounding communities also made use of it.
Morgan stressed the fact that a fully functional 24-hour health facility was sorely and urgently needed.
The town’s water issues were next on the agenda, with Robin Clanahan explaining that the water-treatment works were not performing well according to national assessments.
The WRRA was campaigning that provision of water for White River, as well as the sewage-treatment plant become privatised. The poor state of the facilities, as well as the infrastructure were, however, putting buyers off. A major refurbishing programme by the municipality was therefore needed.
Due to the water shortage the area still faced, residents were urged to use water sparingly and to stop watering their gardens. The more water is saved, the longer the town’s various supplies will last.
The issue of name changes was also on the table and Rowan Torr advised attendees to keep their ears open and join WRRA, which planned to form a committee to engage the municipality on the subject.
As illegal dumping in the town area was still taking place, residents were requested to take care to only dump their refuse in approved spaces.
According to Piet Skead, a waste-transfer station would be set up near the testing grounds at the start of January, where community members could dump their rubbish over weekends.
Anyone who witnessed illegal dumping was urged to report it by sending a photo of the incident and the vehicle’s licence plate to Morgan on 083-414-5060.
The new town attraction, the rhinos at the Casterbridge traffic circle, was also discussed. It seemed as if not even rhino sculptures were safe from poachers, as parts of their horns and tails had been broken off.
The project was still ongoing and the committee planned to have the vandalised sculptures repaired as soon as possible. An indigenious garden would also be planted as soon as sufficient rain had fallen and additional visibility and security measures were put in place to protect the area.
For more information on the WRRA, send an email to Simon Evered on slowveld@soft.co.za or contact him on 083-659-6296.
