Months of unaddressed service delivery issues have left a community near Johann Road and Zephania Street battling water leaks, illegal dumping, dangerous road conditions, and erratic electricity supply.
Charter College Principal Allison Dodge has now spoken out, calling for the City of Johannesburg to act with urgency.
Among the concerns raised were two major water leaks outside the school.
“This is months of fresh water pouring down a drain,” said the principal. “One of the leaks is the size of a child’s paddling pool.”
Even though no official comment has been received from Johannesburg Water (JW) regarding the issue, Dodge informed the Roodepoort Northsider on Wednesday, June 18 that JW eventually came out to fix both leaks, but only after journalists sent questions.
“They left one hole open and said that another team would come out to check it, as there seemed to be a second leak. They filled the other hole, but it looks like it is leaking again today. We will monitor it,” Dodge said.
Dodge took the Northsider to the corner of Johan Road and Zephania where there were big holes, allegedly left unfilled and messy after repairs by JW contractors and City Power. According to her, one of the holes has been left open for many months, and both holes are hazardous to pedestrians.
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“One hole has been filled. Still a lot of tar and rubbish left, but at least it’s been filled,” she said, confirming that progress has been made after the intervention of the newspaper.
“Very few people stop at the stop sign. There have already been one too many deaths on Johan Road due to speeding vehicles.”
The school principal also reported that, “over the last few weeks there seems to be a problem with the electricity. Two or three times now, it has gone off on a Thursday or Friday and does not come back on till Tuesday of the following week. City Power are always notified.”
The Northsider approached City Power for comment and were assured that they are working on solutions to get the issues fixed.
Despite the challenges, the local community is taking initiative.
“The residents in the area are working as a team by trying to report issues, monitor any security issues and report them to the various security companies, as well as trying to keep our area clean.
“Charter College has paid to have the municipal land next to the school cleaned up and we have had the grass cut and removed all the rubbish that was dumped there,” Dodge said, explaining that they are taking initiative to keep their area clean despite the challenges.
