Emotions are running very high among Toekomsrus residents who said they have been kept in the dark about projects taking place in their backyards.
Residents said projects meant to develop the area and benefit members of the community are kept from them, which they attributed to corruption, greed and even nepotism.
They said facilities such as the swimming pool and the stadium are in a state of disrepair, and are sources of their unhappiness. The facilities were supposed to be refurbished, but are now looking worse. They also demand answers as to why the municipal building, which was burnt down by protesters in 2017, has not been rebuilt.
Residents said the same thing is happening with a mega housing project in Extension 4 that was started last year in October.
“The worst kind of corruption is happening in Toekomsrus, because municipal officials are interfering with the projects,” said community leader Mary Afrika.
She explained that the contractors appointed to do the job never complete it and always disappear.
“We’ve had contract managers running off with the money and disappearing without completing the work. While they are supposed to fix and revamp these facilities, they end up making more of a mess,” Afrika said.
Rashida Abrahams, another resident said, “Since 2015 this community has not been benefiting from these projects. The sad part is that many households could have benefited as employees.
“We want to do right by our community, so we can no longer keep quiet when we see things being done this way.”
Residents claimed that the project’s steering committee was also influenced; they even believe the process through which the Community Liaison Officer was appointed to be questionable.
Community activist Collin Williams said, “All we want is the officials to stop interfering. We want them to respect the ward councillors, regardless of the political party they are affiliated with. They should stop overstepping their boundaries and overreaching.”
The Herald has made numerous attempts to get comment from the Rand West City Local Municipality, but all in vain.
