Residents have called for a variety of service delivery issues in the region to be addressed by City at a recent community-based planning meeting.

These include the water issues at the Forest Hill Tower, power outages, upgrading of community facilities, upgrading of roads, vandalised traffic lights, no streetlights which is a huge security risks, potholes, mushrooming of backrooms and illegal spaza shops.

Pieter van Tonder, a resident from Ward 23, complained about the developments in the area. 

“There is a lot of new housing developments in the area and no infrastructure such as upgrading or building of substations, water reservoirs, and roads. “We are always told that departments have challenges. If money is allocated and departments’ challenges remain, will money not be wasted?” he said.

Another resident, Jonathan Ryan, a resident of Ward 54, said: “Local SMMEs are not involved in projects happening in the area. Why are they not prioritised?” There is no transparency in the carrying out of projects and the level of unemployment has multiplied. Contractors are appointed for projects and there is no monitoring of these projects.”
The objective of the session was to solicit inputs from residents on future developments in the area for inclusion in the development of the 2022-27 Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The session was, however, dominated by what residents experience daily and it was difficult for them to see pass what they consider as poor services.

Regional Director for Region F, Irene Mafune, said the City has prioritised service delivery by ensuring that inspectors and teams are on the ground to monitor and inspect service delivery issues with the aim of resolving such. Ward-based walkabouts and tours are part of the responsive service delivery intervention put in place. Mafune implored residents to make contributions of capital projects needed in the community before the closing date of 5 March 2022.

Saturday, 26 February 2022 was the last community-based planning meeting for Region F, which covered wards 23, 54, 55, 56, 57,124 and 125. The session was chaired by Councillor Sarah Wiesler, Chairperson of Governance and co-chaired by Councillor Alex Christians, who is the Chairperson of the Housing Sub-Mayoral Committee in the City of Joburg.

Some of the key infrastructure projects implemented in the region during the 2017-2021 IDP include the upgrading of Rotunda Park in Ward 124, upgrading of Pioneer Park in Ward 57, M2 motorway bridge rehabilitation project, Absa Precinct, Jewel City Development in Ward 124, South Hills Housing project in Ward 57, and Crown Gardens Water Tower, just to mention a few.

Current and future projects in the region include the construction of the South Hills Clinic, Construction of Turffontein Clinic, Gandhi Precinct East Development, which includes upgrade of Fox and Main streets and Portplein Park, replacement of finger joints on the M2 Motorway from Maritzburg to the Crown Interchange and more.

Submissions can be made in the following ways:

Email comments to cbpinputs@joburg.org.za, cbpcomments@joburg.org.za, online comments on www.joburg.org.za or hand written submissions in drop off boxes at the Regional Offices.

Closing date for submissions in 5 March 2022.

Log onto www.joburg.org.za for the complete schedule of CBP meetings.

Written by Dudu Lushaba
01/03/2022