As the saying goes, ‘the proof is in the pudding,’ thus no amount of flowery words or selfies posted on social media by Cllr Patel of the ANC, on how ‘diligent’ he is as Councillor of Ward 61, can convince local residents, who slowly but surely realising that Patel talks with a forked tongue and that he is more of a talker than a doer.
Many residents claim that Patel is more for show and will assist where he can get publicity and where he can get votes from. With mounting complaints from residents concerning poor service delivery from the ANC-led Tshwane Council, Patel continues to sing praises of the ANC, seemingly without any conscience.
This follows yet another complaint from residents of Emerald Street, Laudium, concerning their streetlights not functioning at night for several months.
This, despite Patel posting a few months back that the ANC-led Council was busy fixing all streetlights in the area, with Patel clearly misleading the community in this regard. Residents of Emerald Street say that they have been complaining about the streetlights being off for years, to the Councillor and Council, but to date the lights are still not working. Just what role the seemingly ‘dead wood’ Ward Committee is playing in assisting the community with poor service delivery issues remains a mystery, with some residents saying the committee is merely a puppet of Patel.
Igshaan Hussain, a resident of Emerald Street, Laudium, told the Laudium Sun, “It is really devastating to see that the main street of Laudium, which is Emerald Street, is so poorly maintained by the Council. The streetlights are the heart of any street and they’ve been off for several years. We’ve been complaining to the Council for many years, but nothing has been done. There are so many illegal activities happening at night and because the streetlights are off, criminals are targeting innocent people for pickpocketing and other crimes. The streetlights must be switched on and they must be turned on now. We don’t want to wait another five years to get the lights working. This situation is completely unacceptable. We are really tired of seeing Emerald Street in darkness. This has gone on for too long and the lights need to be turned on immediately. We are even tired of complaining to Councillor Patel.”
Deepak Chagan of Emerald Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The streetlights on Emerald Street have been off for many years, yet the Councillor and the Council are doing nothing about it. The street is so dark at night, it feels like a ghost town. Only a few streetlights on the whole street, maybe two or three, are working and the rest are completely off. This is unacceptable and reflects how poor the service delivery has been under Naeem. It needs to be improved. We are tired of fake promises from politicians. Now is the time for action. We, the people of Laudium, elected him to be the Councillor, but we also know how to elect a new one if things don’t change. All we want is a Councillor who can keep Laudium clean, safe and prosperous.”
Satcho Pillay, also of Emerald Street, said, “The streetlights on Emerald Street haven’t been working for five years, maybe even longer. The Council and the Councillor are useless and it feels pointless to complain, because no one is doing anything about it. So we just keep quiet, because complaining doesn’t help in Laudium anymore. Laudium has really gone from bad to worse and I think that’s why so many people are moving out… because of poor service delivery. The streetlights must be switched on. How can the Council ignore the main street of Laudium? Emerald Street is central and the fact that its lights are not working is a complete failure of both the Councillor and the Council.”
