During a community meeting with Human Settlements MMC, Alderman Aaron Maluleka, residents of Ward 55 took the opportunity to voice out the litany of issues they have with the way the ward is run.

The meeting came about in the midst of the MMC doing the rounds in the metro, addressing illegal townships and the evacuations of residents of identified high-rise buildings, which have been determined to pose a safety risk.

The meeting on November 10 was held in an area called Holy Cross in Saulsville, west of Pretoria.

The community complained about their bills, title deeds and contraventions of their fellow residents.

The MMC previously met with councillors of wards 33, 34, 35, and 36 for their Integrated Service Delivery Teams in Region 1 before arriving in Ward 55.

Reaching out to the residents living around Ward 55, common issues that came up included the lack of improvements to infrastructure and slow to no service delivery.

Ward 55 in Pretoria includes areas such as Hercules, Daspoort, Danville, and Mountain View.

“One big issue is maintenance. About five years ago, we were hit by thunderstorms, during which a number of roofs were blown off people’s homes. Former councillors made promises, but the houses would never be constructed.”

About a year or two ago, another storm damaged the very same broken houses.

“The councillor at the time came together with Human Settlements [department] and promised the victims that their houses would be fixed, but they were not fixed. The community raised [this] when the MMC came,” said resident Itumeleng Gift Mombezi.

Mombezi said overpriced dustbins are another issue, and that since the community arrived here in 2015, they have complained they cannot afford them.

Ward committee member Thuso Phala echoed similar sentiments and expressed hope over the prospect that the Human Settlements Department would be developing new extensions to formalise the township.

“The ward still needs development in most areas, with a geographically wider ward, as this one, you need equity over equality. You need to understand we have informal settlements, estates, plots, townships, and a suburb, one would say… not forgetting industrial areas as well,” Phala said.

The committee member said several residents believe they should be rated the same as any other township such as Atteridgeville, Soshanguve, Mamelodi, and not as suburbs due to the values of their houses, which were granted by the government.

“Indeed, they’re due for their title deeds, for they have been here for the past 10 years.”

Phala said the MMC promised to bring the relevant mobile department to the people regarding the processes of the title deeds, service delivery, and bills.

“We are all happy that the MMC was able to give us an ear; it really shows that, indeed, the city cares for its people. We’ll be much happier to also see the dream of our community, having a sports ground, a park to play and exercise, come to reality.

“The leadership of the Holy Cross Community will not rest until every household has its title deeds and all other necessary service delivery,” Phala added.

Hercules CPF Sector 2 Secretary Johan Cloete said service delivery in Ward 55 and essentially the entire area of Hercules is ‘up to nuggets’ and believes they have been complaining for far too long.

“We’ve been complaining for how long now? The infrastructure, the water pipes burst, cable theft…”

Cloete said they previously asked the metro to come and cut some of the reeds along Van Der Hoff Road, but it hasn’t happened.

“There are a lot of potholes, especially along Van Der Hoff, the crossing near Coca-Cola and SaveMore. They patch, patch, patch, and it doesn’t work. In between houses, there are potholes, there are no streetlights and parks have become illegal dumping sites. We’re getting fed up with this.”

Cloete said by-law enforcement must step in. “We don’t want to hear that there’s no money; that’s nonsense,” he said.

Late last month, hundreds of Ward 55 residents, led by the Ward 55 Socio-Economic Forum, marched to the Coca-Cola Plant in Booysens over what they claim is a lack of transparency and inclusiveness in the company’s procurement.

Cloete and other members of the CPF frequently clean up an open space near the Department of Education. The corner of Market and Becker streets in Booysens is often where local vagrants and recyclers sort through their hauls and burn and dump what they don’t need.

“Illegal dumping is a problem all over Hercules. The public must report any form of dumping to the councillor and HCPF Sector 2, and we ask everybody to use your dustbins for waste removal and not to dump in the open spaces. Keep the environment clean, please,” he concluded.

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