Residents call upon council for quality service delivery
Rekord spoke to residents to find out how they feel about the new council and what they expect. There were mixed answers.
Ratepayers in Pretoria east have high expectations for a level of service delivery commensurate with the taxes and levies they contribute to the city’s coffers.
Dr Nasiphi Moya was elected as Tshwane’s new mayor and introduced her mayoral committee to the city council earlier this month. A multiparty coalition of the ANC, EFF and ActionSA led by Moya, currently presides over Tshwane council affairs.
With the change in leadership comes renewed hope that the concerns and service delivery demands should be fair and s more equitable distribution of city resources and services.
“I will be a mayor for all groups. My promise stands to see to it that we fix the roads, keep the lights on and give our residents clean water,” said Moya in her acceptance speech.
Rekord reached out to Pretoria east residents and stakeholders for their reaction to the changes in council as well as their perspective on what the new council should focus on.
Residents say that service delivery should be key, no matter who is in charge of council matters.
Founding director of Pretoria east Community Caring Forum, Deirdre van Helsdingen, said more boots on the ground are needed.
“The new mayor has worked with the previous mayor [Cilliers] Brink for some time and from what I heard, it was a good relationship. I am however worried that the boots on the ground do not affect Moreletapark.”
She said Moreletapark is still one of the highest contributors to Tshwane’s coffers but does not get service delivery.
“But at the same time, we also did not get any from the previous mayor and his MMCs.
“The new mayor should prioritise service delivery worth our taxes, and help deal with the issues of informal settlements. For years we as Region 6 residents complained about Plastic View, Cemetery View and Wolwespruit. There is no political will to sort out our issues. Our streetlights are not working, our street lanes are not painted and our water leaks get fixed too slowly. This must change.”
She said the new coalition should focus on deporting illegal foreigners.
“With them gone, we can address the smaller groups of people in informal settlements and try to assist with services.”
Leilanie de Andrade, a resident in Moreletapark, said the city needs stability to improve service delivery rather than political egos.
“We hope that the new city council will bring good collaboration between the parties and not be ego-driven. The new council must definitely focus on maintaining what we’ve got, like roads, electricity, streetlights and water supply.
“Everyone is worried about the water factor,” she added.
Deon van Rensburg, head of security for Hatfield CID, said the community safety MMC must prioritise the student-populated Hatfield area to ensure the safety of the students.
Gabedi Mogatwe, Brooklyn CPF chairperson, said the new mayor and MMCs deserve a chance to prove themselves.
“The new mayor must be given a chance to work with her new team of MMCs, then we shall judge her through her work.”
Mogatwe said for now he is hoping that the team will focus on the water issues.
“All I can say is that we are hoping that she will deal with the issue of water in Hamanskraal and restore dignity in the capital city by cleaning it.”
He said the new mayor and her MMC team should be focused on all service delivery issues because equally they are a priority and affect all residents.
Linzeta de Jager is not hopeful that the new mayoral committee and coalition will turn things around, especially led by the ANC.
“All they are good at is looting and chaos. We will give them a chance and hope they can address the high crime rates in Pretoria east, especially Brooklyn and Garsfontein, such as car theft, robberies and housebreaking. They must also focus on the deteriorating infrastructure such as pothole-ridden roads and burning substations every week.”
De Jager said the Mooikloof and Wapadrand substations need serious rehabilitation.
“Electricity is everything and the new council must focus on fixing our substations that burn and get stripped by cable thieves.”
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