A march to be heard
MIDRAND - Jobs, better service delivery and title deeds topped the demands of the Rabie Ridge Community Association, who organised a march to hand over a memorandum to Ward 110 councillor Lesibana Lamola on 10 March.
Rabie Ridge police confirmed no incidents were reported however, chairman of the Rabie Ridge Community Association, Charles Jones, said residents set alight a few car tyres.
Jones said, “First on the memorandum was to request the immediate termination of the contracts of the workers working on the community hall and library.”
Jones and the community members believed those employed for the upgrade were not from Rabie Ridge, even though there were “plenty of skilled people in Rabie Ridge that would be able to do the job”.
Lamola said it was a misunderstanding as a minimum of five jobs were available to the Rabie Ridge community and were not yet filled.
The contractors have stopped working on the upgrade until 10 March when Lamola has said he would address the community outside his offices at 9am.
Lamola said he would facilitate the discussion between the community and the community liaison officer to ensure that the residents were aware of the jobs.
Second on the memorandum was a demand for better service delivery. “We need better sewage removal, grass cutting, refuge collection and running water,” said Jones.
Proportional representation councillor for ward 110, Richard Newby, agreed that service delivery was a problem in the area and rubbish often was not collected. Newby said the area also had sanitation problems. However ward councillor Lamola believed service delivery was on track and that the community did not understand that the municipality was working towards a turn-around time. “Remember that the upgrade of the community hall and the library are part of service delivery, so there is service delivery in Rabie Ridge,” said Lamola.
The third issue on the memorandum was a demand that some of the Rabie Ridge community members would benefit from the proposed RDP housing development on a portion of land close to the township.
Lamola said he had already called the Department of Housing and would facilitate discussions. He would also address this issue with the community in the meeting on 10 March.
Lamola will still hold a meeting that he had planned for 15 March at the community hall at 10am.
Jones said the march was not about politics, as the Rabie Ridge Community Association was non-political, but rather to demand rights for residents.
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