WATCH: Joshco residents protest against poor service delivery
Tenants are dissatisfied over a rent increase, water issues, security, and poor service.
Peaceful protesters from Turfontein Joshco Project handed a memorandum to City of Johannesburg officials on October 10.
They are dissatisfied over a rent increase, water issues, security, and poor service.
The memorandum was received and signed by stakeholder manager Sihlwele Myeki from the mayor’s office, Reba Motseoakumo who was representing the ward committee of Region F, and Darlington Masalesa, the Joscho caretaker.
Langa Klaas, who represented the tenants, said they have been staying there for over a year and a half.
“This is not a very pleasant place for us to stay as a working-class community in a low-cost project. We are very frustrated.”
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Some of the challenges they brought forward:
• A month ago, they started experiencing water challenges, which during Covid-19 turns into a health hazard. Tenants do appreciate that from a week ago the water crisis had been slightly improving.
• They have experienced issues with security from the start of the project and when everyone moved in. Security has been changed about three times during this past year and a half.
• The bottom gate has not been functioning and a request was forwarded to the management of this project numerous times, but it fell on deaf ears.
• The biometric system was promised to be fixed but this has also not been done.
• Maintenance is also a very big issue. They make promises to fix certain things around the complex as well as inside the houses, but they do not fulfil their promises.
• Management is not consistent regarding the increasing of the rent. Even if people move in a month before, they will find their rent increasing drastically the following month.
On receiving the memorandum, Myeki said his office will look at the grievances.
“The mayor will respond to this memorandum and acknowledges the receipt of it. It is in his interest that these issues are responded to.
“I cannot comment now on the issues because it is the first time I’m hearing about them. We will respond and act on them,” he said.
