Urban management initiative hits Region 3

As the metro continues rolling out its Integrated Urban Management (IUM) programme, issues affecting the business districts of Region 3 continue to reveal themselves.

MMC for Transport Tlangi Mogale, who was part of the team designated to address Region 3, said they’ve been hard at work in Ward 55, attending to grass cutting, tree felling, pothole fixing and unblocking the catchpit.

Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, alongside Mogale and members of the Mayoral Committee, launched the programme on August 1 with a by-law and service delivery operation targeting the Kirkney and Marabastad business districts, as well as the Coca-Cola and Pretoria West Business Parks.

“Concentration of our operations has been on Van Der Hoff Street from Bremer [Street] to Fortsig [railway siding] in the west,” Mogale said.

Mogale said blocked drainage has been causing trouble for businesses in and around the area.

“From Wednesday last week, teams started maintenance activities in Ward 3 on Zeiler Street. This is an area where communities dump waste in the stream, blocking the stormwater channel regularly,” Mogale said.

“Our cleaning efforts can only be effective when communities work with the city and refrain from dumping into the watercourse. Blocked stormwater channels cause flooding and damage the road infrastructure, negatively impacting the business activities in Pretoria West.”

Mogale said work will continue throughout the week from Buitenkant Street to Roger Dyason Road.

During the programme launch last week, stakeholders also shut down a peanut butter factory operating without permits in Kirkney.

Non-compliant stores were also closed, and fines were issued for business owners to comply.

To curb the illicit use of water and electricity through illegal connections, Mogale said the metro’s revenue enhancement is critical for the improvement of service delivery.

She added that the city will continue to disconnect businesses and residents illegally connecting to infrastructure throughout Region 3.

“While close attention has been paid to Ward 55, the region continued to render effective urban management functions throughout the Region. Road maintenance continued in wards 7, 51, 71, 62, 63, 42, 56, 58, 3, and 80 during this week.

Mogale said Ward 60’s turn would come in the week of August 4.

The areas stakeholders visited recently in Region 3 included Jazz Park, E’skia Mphahlele Drive (Ward 58), the Asiatic Bazaar interchange, WF Nkomo Street – Ward 3 (Proclamation Hill and Wespark), as well as wards 52 and 53.

Operations included:

– Grass cutting, tree trimming, and general cleaning at Jazz Park, E’skia Mphahlele Drive, and the Asiatic Bazaar interchange.

– Road marking at intersections and pothole repairs by road teams.

– Blocked 10th Street stormwater drains due to waste disposal by informal traders. The blockage had contributed to a concurrent sewer overflow in one of the nearby buildings. The roads and stormwater, waste management, and water and sanitation teams responded effectively to resolve the issue.

– A clean-up operation was conducted along the WF Nkomo corridor (grass cutting, cleaning of walkways and water channels).

– Grass cutting and sidewalk cleaning of Frates Street leading toward the CBD.

Ward 3 councillor Malesela Rakabe said the operation from last week was a follow-up from the mayor’s visit to his ward last month.

The stakeholders closed down a church where buildings were illegally erected, and the presiding pastor could not provide permits for operation. A contravention fine was also issued, and the matter is currently at the High Court, as the land is privately owned. Officials also disconnected illegal connections to the metro’s water and electricity.

“There are a lot of buildings in Proclamation Hill that just pop up, which we couldn’t get to as we were delayed by the church. That’s an area we plan to visit when the mayor comes back. We also have a substation on WF Nkomo that is not functioning and serves as a hotspot for muggers that we hope the mayor and electricity department can help us with,” Rakabe said.

The stakeholders also closed down a supermarket found to be using fraudulent documentation.

On the way to the supermarket, officials came across a yard with about 40 shacks.

“When we entered, we discovered that they’ve breached the water and the electricity [regulations]. We couldn’t find the owner, but we found people who are renting there. The majority of them are immigrants; there are legal ones and there are illegal ones,” Rakabe said.

“One thing we’ve come to understand, however, is that across Luttig Street, similar set-ups are on other properties. We’ve collected our information to take to the Bad Buildings Committee, so we can begin the process of demolishing these structures.”

He said these make-shift squatter camps are contributing to the electricity struggles of the area.

“We also got a briefing from the electricity department about the low-voltage issue that has been happening in Proclamation Hill for the past four months or so. We’re just waiting for budget approval to increase the number of mini-substations. The reason we have low-voltage issues is because of these pop-up buildings that are not commissioned by city planning, and they carry a serious load, which hurts our infrastructure.

Rakebe said it would take about four weeks to resolve the issue.

The ward councillor said the operation did not mainly focus on by-law enforcement, but also on providing services to the community.
This included the aluminium backup feeder from Zebra Technologies for the Kraai substation, where cable theft often occurs.

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