Taking a scenic drive in Standerton is a misnomer since declining standards of living are the order of the day.
The Standerton Advertiser noticed on Saturday, May 7 the vandalism, rubbish carelessly discarded, crumbling roads, potholes and general downward trend from the Standerton River Park all the way in an eastern direction.
The municipal swimming pool, no longer open to the public, is such an example.
Participants at the parkrun know very well that the potholed road towards the starting point has to be carefully navigated.
This is only scratching the surface of infrastructure problems as the full Monty involves electricity and water as well.
In a week punctuated by Eskom’s load-shedding, insult was added to injury when power regularly tripped once the power utility’s scheduled time was past.
A post on a WhatsApp-group advised residents in sub B to switch of geysers, heaters and appliances and leave it off for a period of 20 minutes after electricity was restored.
This could prevent a tripping of power.
Lekwa Municipality issued a notice on May 7 that a cable had been cut and stolen from sub C to CA sub in Walter Sisulu Drive.
The CA sub was off which affected electricity supply to Mahala Park, Shivovo, Ext 1, Vodacom, Azalea, RDP and parts of town.
The municipality has taken the bull by the horns and will embark on a programme to replace bridged or non-functional electricity meters.
According to one of their notices, resident can report those meters at the rates hall in Mbonani Mayisela Street.
The amnesty period began on May 1 and will be until May 31.
A punitive programme will be follow when failing to report such.
The Standerton Advertiser quoted the administrator, Johann Mettler’s views on electricity in the August 6 edition of last year.
“We are only billing and metering 57% of the electricity bought from Eskom and a further 47% is unaccounted for,” Mettler said.
Water supply in certain areas was also up to maggots.
Lekwa issued a notice last Tuesday about a water leak at the Kieser Reservoir’s outlet pipe which affected supply to mid-town.
The newspaper was notified on Friday, May 6 that the executive mayor, Louis Delani Thabethe, was intending to hold a press briefing the same day.
This briefing was then postponed to Monday, May 9.
A special council sitting took place on May 6 which according to a notification on social media, would have involved a quarterly audit meeting, progress on the mandatory intervention and financial recovery plan, as well as a report on capital projects for the 2021/2022 financial year.
An article on the nature of the press briefing will be published as soon as possible.
