Service delivery challenges remain one of the biggest concerns affecting residents in Ward 98.

This is according to Ward 98 councillor, Mickey van der Westhuizen, who says the area is dealing with issues related to broken streetlights, potholes, electricity outages and overgrown grass, which continue to frustrate communities.

Van der Westhuizen said residents regularly raise concerns about basic municipal services when he engages with them, with malfunctioning streetlights topping the list of complaints.

“The biggest challenge currently is service delivery. If we look at the issues residents are facing, it is overgrown grass, the number of potholes not being fixed, as well as electricity problems,” he said.

According to Van der Westhuizen, poor communication from the municipality is also making it difficult to resolve service delivery complaints.

He explained that requests for assistance or updates are often met with delays or no feedback at all.

“I sent the metro an email early in January outlining the problems we have in the ward and asking them to explain why the electricity issues are not being fixed. Until now, there has been no proper response,” he said.

Van der Westhuizen added that residents often report outages and faults without receiving clear information about whether municipal teams are working on the problem.

“The residents just want to know that someone is looking at the problem and that there is a team on the ground. Unfortunately, that feedback is often not provided,” he said.

Streetlights have emerged as one of the most pressing concerns, as they directly affect safety in the community.

According to the councillor, broken lights create opportunities for criminal activity, particularly at night.

“Streetlights are a major problem. If you have a streetlight that is down, safety will decrease and criminality will increase.

“During the night, it becomes more dangerous because criminals take advantage of dark areas.”

Potholes are also causing frustration among motorists and residents, and Van der Westhuizen said he recently assisted an elderly resident whose vehicle was damaged by a pothole.

“I had to stop and help an older gentleman change his wheel after it was damaged by a pothole. These issues affect road users, pedestrians, and public transport.”

Despite the ongoing challenges, Van der Westhuizen said some progress has been made since he took office, including the removal of a long-standing illegal dumping site.

“The other day we managed to eradicate a dumping site that had been there for more than five years,” he said.

He added that infrastructure maintenance remains a challenge in many areas because underlying problems, such as a lack of proper stormwater drainage, are not being addressed.

“You cannot just patch potholes. If there are no stormwater drains, water seeps into the road and the potholes come back again.”

Van der Westhuizen also emphasised that ward councillors act as intermediaries between residents and the municipality, which can make resolving issues more difficult.

“Residents must remember that the councillor does not fix the problems. We are the mediator between the public and the metro.”

He encouraged residents to remain patient while continuing to raise concerns and work together to improve the ward.

“I will not give up. I will continue to fight for residents and make sure the metro hears our concerns. When the community stands together, we can make a difference.”

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said for all maintenance-related complaints, the responsible department needs specific information such as the location, street names and reference numbers.

“However, the metro has a weekly programme of attending to parks, cemeteries, community halls, libraries, road reserves, and public open spaces.

“Furthermore, the metro is currently resolving a backlog of approximately 14 000 potholes on its road network from the last six months. It would be appreciated if we could be furnished with specific service delivery incident concerns bearing [reference] numbers,” he said.

He said service delivery challenges in the municipality are also accelerated through the Re A Spana programme.

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