Weed spraying contract bungle sees Montclair residents urged to maintain verges

A WEED-spraying contract which expired  three years and lack of resources are still affecting service delivery in ward 64 (Montclair, Yellowwood Park and Woodlands).

So says ward 64 councillor, Gavin Hegter who believes the city is ill prepared and  lacks planning with regards to maintaining verges and stormwater drains, which are choked by invasive weeds.

Weeds have overrun the verges in certain areas, which affects the visibility of pedestrians and motorists, especially when turn at corners. “In times of heavy rains, the stormwater drains do not work since little forests are left to grow inside and around them,” said Cllr Hegter.

READ: Take ownership of your suburb’ – Cllr Gavin Hegter

The problem, he says, is the eThekwini Municipality’s lack of proper planning when a weed spraying contract expires.”Three years ago, the contract expired and in normal business before a contract expires, a new one is already set up to continue the job. It took them 18 months for a contractor to be appointed to cut and spray weeds, which was still not done,” he said.

READ:Trench warfare rages in Montclair

In late 2016, six co-ops were appointed to maintain the entire eThekwini area. “The city appointed emerging contractors which we were in full support of but unfortunately, the contractors were under-resourced. They had no equipment and no vehicles so that fell through. At the end the contractors bit off more than they could chew and therefore most of them were terminated and new contracts were advertised,” he added.

The cycle has become an ongoing issue and in the meantime, the weeds continue to grow taller, so he urged home owners to take ownership of the verge in front of their homes and clean it up. “I thank those residents who are already taking ownership of the front of their properties. At times it’s up to us to keep our city clean,” he said.

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