Service delivery in Silverton crumbles, say residents

Residents of Silverton are at their wits’ end over poor service delivery, despite paying rates and taxes.

According to the residents, service delivery in the area has crumbled over the years, with leaking sewage, overgrown grass, burst pipes, dangerous potholes and non-functioning streetlights being the order of the day.

A resident in Silverton, Liezel Moller, said the community has been reporting issues such as water pipe bursts, sewage spillages and potholes for a while. She claimed that the city had turned a blind eye.

“We do not have any service delivery in Silverton but we are rate-paying citizens.

The area is riddled with unattended pipe bursts, particularly on Jasmyn Avenue, Krige Street, Moreleta Street and De Blvd.”

On the corner of De Blvd and Moreleta Street, there is a huge pothole near a traffic circle. According to Moller, residents fear that the hole might turn into a sinkhole as it is filled with water and continuously grows, causing cracks.

Moller emphasised that as rate-paying citizens, the community expects adequate service delivery.

She said an open manhole on the road at the corner of Brandwag and Krige streets was reported in September 2024. To date, it has not been fixed or closed.

“Our once beautiful Silverton we grew up in, is now in a very decayed state, with the municipality turning a blind eye to this,” she said.

Onida Avenue is also riddled with sewage spillages, which have run for weeks before the city could attend to them.

“The sewage on Onida Avenue has been terrific, residents have experienced foul stench for a while which is a health hazard and the sewage was spilling inside a drainage system.”

Moller said the water bursts are just not ending.

“The city should invest in water infrastructure and stop this temporary repairs that last for a short while.”

She said the metro has been warning people of water wastage and pleading with people to save water, however, water is lost through burst pipes.

“In Silverton alone, we have so many leaks that lead to the loss of thousands of litres a day, and despite being reported, the metro takes its time to respond or to repair it.”

She said residents demand a municipality that is working for all its residents.

An elderly resident on Jasmyn Avenue, Janie de Beer, who has lived in Silverton for over 60 years, said the area had experienced so many phases of service delivery decline.

“We have witnessed the place develop as well as decline to the state it is in currently,” he said.

De Beer said streetlights on Jasmyn Avenue, have been non-functional for over two years now.

“This is troubling because we are at risk of being mugged or robbed. We have been reporting the issues to the municipality but with no luck.

“We are elderly people, we report this every time and no one bothers to come to fix any issue.”

Marietjie van Deventer, a Silverton resident of over 40 years, said service delivery is a disaster.
She said last week, refused had not been collected.

Van Deventer said water leaks are a headache for the area.

“Silverton is dark, one would swear there’s no power in the area as streetlights are not working at all.

“All of these issues are reported and when we do follow-ups at Tshwane, they tell us the issues are resolved while in fact they were not attended to.”

Van Deventer said the parks and recreation department is not doing anything at all.

“The department is not cutting grass on sidewalks or in the conservation areas.”

She said this is a huge problem.

“Overgrown grass is a cover for criminals who attack residents. We as residents try to meet the metro halfway through cutting grass, but we have limited resources.”

Van Deventer said the iconic Blue Bridge, which people and school children use to cross to the other side of Meyerspark, is surrounded by overgrown grass.

“We know the metro will always say finances or backlog delays the work but we can’t have a backlog the whole year.

“The communities are neglected but our money should be paid on time according to Tshwane’s rules and demands. The city needs to stop talking and making empty promises and start acting in favour of the loyal communities that pay their rates and taxes on time,” she concluded.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro is committed to delivering services to all its residents, irrespective of their location.

He said the city is working around the clock to resolve any water leaks and sewage spills in the area.

“The turnaround times to attend to the issues are negatively affected by the volume of service requests received,” said Mashigo.

Mashigo said the sewage spills in Onida Avenue were repaired and the area was disinfected.

According to the city records, the reference number provided does not exist. He pleaded with the community to please share the address.

Mashigo said the service request for potholes in Silverton has been received and repairs have commenced.

“We are not aware of any service request lodged or any escalation received from residents in the area. However, a team has been dispatched to conduct investigations in the mentioned street.”

Mashigo said due to the recent prolonged heavy downpours, the city is experiencing an increase in the number of potholes.

“Residents are encouraged to raise their concerns through councillors.”

Ward councillor Ben Chapman said the water infrastructure in Silverton is decayed and urgent interventions are needed.

“We are in the process of petitioning the city manager to account for the massive water wastage and persistent pipe bursts due to lack of maintenance.”

Chapman said the area has too many water leaks which some are not even attended to.

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