Residents of Blyvooruitzicht are not only making a difference to their community but also have big plans for its future, reports Carletonville Herald.  

This former mining town just outside Carletonville was abandoned after the Blyvooruitzicht gold mine was liquidated in 2013. Although a new company, Blyvoor Gold, took over two of the old shafts, neither the firm nor the government took responsibility for the town.

Since then, residents have kept Blyvooruitzicht functioning while working with the NGO Lawyers for Human Rights to force the Merafong City Local Municipality to maintain a basic water supply.

According to Thabo Mashigo, Welcome Jikwana Zamokulunga and Simon Ncube of the Concerned Community Leadership, a resident group acting as the town’s leaders, they have taken action on several of the community’s main concerns.

““We, as the Blyvooruitzicht leadership, have decided to take the challenges of our community into our own hands by trying to fix the roads,” said Mashigo.”

During the past week, the group started to repair the town’s numerous massive potholes after receiving help from a local business. They must do this themselves because the Merafong City Local Municipality considers the town to be private property rather than part of its sphere of governance.

According to Mashigo, they also want Blyvooruitzicht to be officially declared a town and are prepared to take the matter to the High Court.

Although the Housing Development Agency investigated how this could be achieved, residents claim the municipality has never released the final report on its findings.

The residents have appealed to anyone willing to help them to contact Mashigo on 076 607 8662 or Jikwana on 083 657 1679.

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