Trichardt community discusses town’s problems

TRICHARDT – The community discussed current problems in town at the Trichardt Community Policing Forum (CPF) meeting held at Laerskool Trichardt on Tuesday evening, 4 February.

The chairman of the CPF, Mr Clarke van der Walt, said a memorandum was sent to the traffic department about the behaviour of taxi drivers, as well as trucks driving through Trichardt.

“The behaviour of the taxi drivers is still a big problem,” said Mr Van der Walt.

“The taxi’s were allocated drop-off and pick-up points, but it has not yet been demarcated. There are also private taxi’s that are not registered with the taxi association.”

Another problem on the agenda was the noise emitted from a local hangout.

“The police went to business numerous times and asked them to turn down their music. It is loud mostly when a special singer performs. Hopefully they will now host these singers at a venue outside of town.”

The CPF members also discussed the problem with potholes. Mr Van der Walt said some business owners are willing to buy the equipment to repair the potholes, but it will be better to first tackle problem of trucks driving through Trichardt.

“It is not the CPF’s job to fix potholes, however, if it is a safety concern, we will get involved and help, but we need the community to also come on board,” said Mr Van der Walt.

Ms Ciska Jordaan, DA councillor, gave residents feedback on some problems in town, such as a sewage leak near the Shell filling station.

“The technical department and the director of water and sanitation have been to the site. They realised the problem is larger than they initially thought. It is not just an overflowing manhole,” said Ms Jordaan.

“I approached the health inspector to find a fast track solution for this problem.”

Ms Jordaan said Govan Mbeki Municipality owes Eskom and Rand Water billions and the debt keeps piling up.

“The municipality is finding it hard to come up with the money to pay Eskom and Rand Water.

“We heard in the council meeting on 30 January that the municipality’s financial reports were not approved.

“I encourage residents to look on the municipality’s website and see what kind of documents you find there, scrutinise it and help us to highlight issues.”

Ms Jordaan encourage residents to switch off the main electrical breaker in their homes before load shedding kicks in, as it will help prevent incidents such as the recent fire at the electrical sub-station near Albany.

“Load shedding is a huge issue that affects our infrastructure.”

She said if residents’ appliances are damaged because of load shedding, they can claim damages from municipality.

Ms Mariaan Chamberlain, DA councillor, said the panels and switchgear at the mini sub-station near Albany will be replaced soon and the sewage problem near the Shell filling station will soon be resolved.

The CPF will again be cutting the grass in some parts of Trichardt this week. The committee asked residents who are willing to help or who know where the grass needs to be cut, to contact the CPF.

“Even if you can only donate R10, it will help,” said Mr Van der Walt.

“We want to keep our town clean and improve visibility.”

Residents can also join the CPF on patrols.

“We meet at the police station before patrols and check in there again afterwards,” said Mr Van der Walt.

“We patrol to keep our loved ones safe, but we need more people to patrol.”

The CPF is in the process of compiling a safety plan for Trichardt. According to law each town must have a safety plan.

“If a huge fire like they had in Knysna begins here, will you know what to do or where to go?” asked Mr Van der Walt.

“That is why we need a safety plan for Trichardt.”

For more information or to get involved with the CPF, contact Mr Van der Walt at 079 985 4343.