Residents shocked by the neglect in Bronkhorstspruit

Residents are getting tired of the municipality not doing their work, so they started taking matters into their own hands.

April 29, 2024

Johan Bezuidenhout 1 minute read

Electrical boxes are being neglected and have become overgrown.

The residents of Bronkhorstspruit raised their concerns about illegal dumping sites that are popping up overnight all over town, which affect the health of the community.

Residents have grown tired of poorly maintained roads, potholes, broken traffic lights and street lights that are damaged.

Community members also raised their concerns with the illegal gatherings close to the old age homes where they make noise till late at night.

Residents feel their repeated calls for help to address all these issues are going unanswered and falling on deaf ears.

The municipality neglects to pick up the rubble in town.

Illegal dumping happens in broad daylight, daily. Mostly people arrive with bakkies and mini-trucks to dump their waste because they do not want to drive to the waste site in Zithobeni.

The waste that is being dumped is plastics, paper waste and sometimes chemicals. The sewage is also an old problem and the municipality struggles to find a permanent solution to the problem.

“There is a process underway to address the sewage problem because everything has been done including using a jet vacuum machine,” said Jabu Mabona, the Regional Head of Region 7.

According to Mabona, the sewerage system gets fixed just to break or become blocked a few days later, causing sewage spills into the streets of Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding townships.

One of the problem areas in Bronkhorstspruit where people party till late.

“Public drinking in parks in the Bronkhorstspruit area is a big problem. This happens especially over the weekends which upsets residents of the Diamond Park Old Age Home,” said Lucas Ferreira, director of Diamond Park.

During a recent visit from Streeknuus, it became clear that the residents are not just sitting back and letting their neighbourhood deteriorate.

Some residents have taken matters into their own hands by cutting the grass, clearing away the rubble and working alongside the municipality to make their town a better place.

Thandi Radebe said, “If we don’t work together to improve our community then there will be no change.”

Through donations, people were able to clean areas in and around Bronkhorstspruit such as Cathie Street, R25, R568, R42 and R50.