New Rand West City executive mayor shares his vision

The newly appointed Rand West City Local Municipality’s (RWCLM) Executive Mayor, William Mathafeng Matsheke, shared his vision in a media briefing on October 27.

The Randfontein Herald was invited to attend the briefing where the executive mayor spoke about current issues. He also gave resolutions.

He stated that he would give attention to areas where service delivery is a priority. Matters that are identified as urgent will then be prioritised according to Matsheke who further acknowledged that he is aware of the lack of service delivery in the community.

He then spoke about the sewage spill, particularly in Bekkersdal and Mohlakeng claiming that the municipality’s sanitation infrastructure is ‘falling apart’. Residents of Robin Park have also laid complaints about the sewage system and expressed that Randfontein is an old city that has not appreciated the fact that it would grow the way it did.

• Also read: New Rand West City mayor lists his priorities

“When we accepted many mega projects like Dan Tloome, Affri Village, and Montrose we did not anticipate that each one would come with its challenges. Part of those challenges is the collapse of bulk sanitation infrastructure that we are experiencing at the moment. This is part of the priorities that we need to focus on as a matter of urgency.

“We have been in constant communication with the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation [David Mahlobo] where we have submitted several business plans so that they are then able to assist us on water-related issues. We are experiencing a loss of revenue with water leaks,” Matsheke stated.

He continued by saying that they currently have 27% water loss which impacts their financial viability and further stated that most of the municipality’s revenue revolves around water and electricity. At the moment, they are losing 27% of this as income.

“The electricity is a huge challenge not only for the city but for the entire country. When the electricity system was drafted, it was not necessarily created to serve the entire population. When we attained democracy we needed to assure that every citizen had access to electricity. We experienced a collapse because of the overworked electricity supply, thus needing to build more substations. The people of Mohlakeng especially are experiencing shedding of electricity because of the load that residents are using,” he stated.

Matsheke also elaborated on the matter of the road infrastructure, saying that the municipality needs to rehabilitate the entire road network to ensure that over time the infrastructure stays stable. He claimed that patching the potholes would not maintain a standard road network, especially regarding the sewage leaks. He added that fixing the sewage leaks is a priority before rehabilitating the roads since the chance of water damage would only cause damage once again.

Crime rates also made the briefing as Matsheke spoke about the ongoing crime. He claims that he has spoken to police minister Bheki Cele after the recent launch of the festive season safety strategy. Matsheke also raised several concerns to Cele, especially concerning the zama zama (illegal miners) issue on the West Rand affecting Randfontein, neighbouring Krugersdorp, and even Roodepoort.

“The zama zamas are everywhere. We have requested the minister to make sure that this matter gets serious attention. We have also requested visible policing.”

According to the mayor, Cele donated about R20m worth of vehicles so that the police force could be visible in the community.
He added the reason for the high crime rate is disobedience. This is due to a lack of municipal policing. Therefore he also spoke about increasing the capacity of law enforcement to aid in stopping crime.

Furthermore, Matsheke expressed his thoughts on the unhygienic state of the city. He mentioned that the municipality is in the process of purchasing vehicles to help with the picking up of waste. He further stated that he wants to commit the residents of Randfontein that from November 1, waste will be collected on time as scheduled.

“We told the municipal manager that we do not want excuses. In fact, we told all assertive management teams that the members who did not work would be the first ones to be dismissed by me. They have taken an oath to assure that they give a service, therefore we will not shy away if that oath is not being delivered,” he claimed.

Lastly, Matsheke commented on the vandalising of cemetery properties. He stated that the deceased must be respected, making sure that the cemeteries are clean and well-fenced with appointed security.