Mayor says City of Tshwane takes water issue seriously

1. Sir. I write this concerned that our municipality and its organs are deliberately ignoring us. Our water meters at Soshanguve Extension 11 have been leaking with relevant people ignoring our requests for repairs to the infrastructure. Will the office of the mayor please take our concerns seriously. – Tshegishe Takalo from Soshanguve.

•  We are aware of the dilapidated water infrastructure in some of the areas adversely affected by poor management of our water apparatus by the previous administration.
• The water reticulation network in Soshanguve Blocks AA and F is approximately 30 years old and collapsing fast due to the age of the asbestos pipes.
• The good news is, there is a project under way to replace 4 500 metres of pipeline which is progressing well.
• The contractor has replaced the most critical sections of the existing water reticulation network, which has deteriorated to such an extent that it has become unserviceable.
• The City of Tshwane is committed to ensuring that safe, clean and affordable water is accessible to all and that adequate planning is exercised in order to avoid service interruptions.
• It must be noted that there will be water interruptions during the pipes switch over. Residents will be informed of the planned interruptions via existing communication channels.
• We plead with our resident’s cooperation and patience in this regard for this is to their long-term benefit. We also thank our residents for their patience thus far.

2. Mayor of Tshwane, Mr Solly Msimanga: Why is the city refusing us permission to erect the whole tombstone at Heartherly Cemetery in Mamelodi? They only allow the headstone, but all over Tshwane residents are permited to erect differently. Is this done because all the city mayors are from Atteridgeville? – Lassy Moabelo from Mamelodi.

•  The previous administration approved a report in September 2012 that discouraged the use of stacked stones methods in favour of berm strips (headstones) and conventional tombstones.
• The objective was to standardise, improve the aesthetic appearance of cemeteries and bridge the gap between extreme disparities that characterise the outlook of cemeteries.
• The city has recently developed two cemeteries, one in Klip-Kruisfontein (Soshanguve) and the other in Tshwane North (Hammanskraal). The layout plan for these two cemeteries comprises both the berm strips and full monument sections.
• Further to that, the department is currently in the process of redesigning the layout plan for the regional cemetery in Region 7 to cater for both the berm strips and full monument sections.
• As part of my preliminary investigation on the matter at hand, I have been made aware that in terms of the layout plan for Heartherly Cemetery, only berm strips may be erected.
• I am assigning officials with the responsibility of conducting further investigation, particularly with regard to Heartherly Cemetery.
• The outcome of the investigation will form part of the official departmental response, which will be communicated in due course.

3. Mr Mayor, what type of car are you driving and what did it cost the city to buy it for you? – Anonymous domestic worker from East Lynne.

• I commute in the official BMW vehicle that was procured and used by the previous mayor.
• The city has therefore not spent a cent in procuring a car for either my private or official use.

Boyce Maneli, ANC mayor of the West Rand District Municipality, was scheduled to answer questions from our readers. However, he did not respond to the questions asked by the time of going to print.

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