The various City Council departments are failing miserably in the service delivery.
Almost all the departments’ service delivery and maintenance are substandard or non-existent, and it is not that the City Council staff does not want to ensure delivery of services, it is that they are under-resourced, which also has an adverse effect on their morale.
Johannesburg Roads Agency takes forever to repair potholes and the reinstatement of surfaces, and when they are contacted will immediately inform you that they do not have stock of tar etc.
We are waiting now since January to get a reinstatement to a pavement to be attended to on the corner of Kibler Heights and Peggy Vera streets, Kibler Park.
City Parks is trying its best to attend to the parks with either no equipment or staff and finding it very difficult to get on top of the immense backlog. Illegal advertising by-law control does not exist; everywhere you see bridges being covered in illegal adverts, with no effort from any by-laws imposed to bring the culprits to justice.
Johannesburg Water run on one standby team after hours and can hardly cope with the workload, letting gallons of water go to waste, even causing flooding of private properties. In some instances water leaks are left for up to 12 hours before they are even attended to. Sewer leaks are left for days running down our streets, even though photos are sent to officials.
Despite the Mayor stating in his State of the City address earlier this year that over R1 billion is earmarked for maintenance and service deliveries, none of this seems to be happening on the ground. Issues have to be reported several times, and then again be followed up several times, before it is attended to.
By-law enforcement seems to have fallen by the wayside as most officials in this department do not know the by-law statutes or how to implement them.
Pikitup is a total disaster, taking forever to clear rubble from the streets, even to remove plastic bags from street corners.
The list is endless and there does not seem to be any urgency in getting to grips with the problems and getting it resolved before the so-called World Class Africa City dissipates into a disaster, rodent-infested and rubbish slum.
Peter Stewart
DA Councillor (PR) Ward 125
Cell: 083 266 3838 Fax: 086 627 2139
email: psward125@yahoo.com
