Despite many Laudium/Erasmia/Claudius residents still complaining about receiving poor services from the ANC-led Tshwane Council, the ANC still has the audacity to ask residents to vote for the party in the forthcoming elections, so that they could again control the city (and mess up).
This week, has yet again, seen many complaints received by the Laudium Sun.
This time residents of Claudius are frustrated over what they describe as unfulfilled promises from the Council and the local Ward Councillor, Naeem Patel, regarding the non-functional streetlights in the Claudius Security Estate.
Residents say that the streetlights have remained out of service for more than three months and despite contacting the Tshwane Council and Cllr Patel, their streets remains dark, resulting in many residents cancelling their evening walks for fear of being attacked, despite living in a security estate.
Satch Mathen of Sastri Street, Claudius Estate, told the Laudium Sun, “I am a resident of Sastri Street and our streetlights have not been operating for more than three months now. Almost all the streets in the Claudius Estate are also affected and the situation has become a serious concern for residents. I believe that as ratepayers, it is unacceptable for residents to live in darkness for such a long period, while waiting for the Council to attend to the problem. I understand that our estate manager has complained several times and raised this concern with the City Council as well as the Ward Councillor, but no one has attended to the issue so far. I feel so frustrated because the complaints have been made, but we are still sitting with dark streets. We have been waiting anxiously, despite it being our right to get proper and effective services from the Council, for the streetlights to be repaired, but nothing seems to be happening. I cannot go for my evening walk like I used to, because the streets are extremely dark. There is also a lot of overgrown grass in certain areas, which makes the situation even more concerning. I feel that the darkness and the overgrown areas create places where someone could hide without being noticed. I do not feel comfortable walking around the estate at night, because I cannot see what is ahead of me. I am also worried about crime in the area. When the streetlights are not working, it becomes difficult for residents to see people or vehicles moving around the estate at night. I feel that proper lighting is very important for the safety of everyone living here, especially elderly residents and people who want to walk outside after dark. It seems that contacting the Councillor again is becoming a waste of time because we are not getting the assistance we need. We have raised the matter and waited patiently, but the problem remains unresolved. Residents have been given promises, but those promises have not been fulfilled. We do not want another promise, we want to see action. We want the streetlights in Claudius Estate to be properly repaired and working again. It is time that the Council and the Councillor take our complaints seriously and get the streetlights working again.”
Andre Hills, Claudius Estate Manager, told the Laudium Sun, “I am extremely concerned about the streetlights in Claudius Estate, which have been non-functional for more than three months. I have repeatedly reported the problem to the City Council and personally raised it with Councillor Naeem Patel, but nothing has been done so far. I must acknowledge that the service delivery on this matter has been really poor and residents are becoming increasingly frustrated. I am not against any political party, but I must speak honestly about what I have experienced. I often go on holiday to the Western Cape and when there is a service delivery problem there, I have noticed that the response is much quicker. The Municipal officials are also generally friendly when dealing with complaints. Here, however, I feel that we are struggling to get even basic assistance, despite repeatedly reporting the same problem. The lack of lighting is also affecting our security arrangements. The security guards at Claudius Estate cannot properly conduct foot patrols at night because so many streets are completely dark. It becomes difficult to see what is happening around the estate, and this creates an unnecessary security concern for residents and the guards. I even sent an email to a senior manager in the City of Tshwane’s street lighting department and he asked me to provide the reference numbers for the complaints I had already lodged. I sent him all the reference numbers as requested, but nothing has happened since then. I then contacted customer services by email and am still waiting for a response. I decided to take the matter further and contacted their office directly. Two days later, I received a response asking me to send all the reference numbers again, together with the dates on which I had reported faults where no reference number had been provided. I supplied everything they requested, including the relevant dates, but to this day there has been no meaningful action. I find it extremely frustrating that I have followed every process available to me over a three month period and still cannot get the problem resolved. The Council officials in the streetlighting department need to do their work properly and respond promptly to residents’ complaints. I have also noticed that when repairs are eventually carried out, only one or two streets may be attended to. Within a week or two, after strong winds, the lights stop working again. I have been told that there is no money available for day night switches and that circuit breakers also need to be replaced, but these explanations do not solve the problem. I have not seen a streetlight department vehicle attending to the estate during the last three months. We have reported the faults, supplied reference numbers, provided dates and followed up through different channels. We now once more appeal to the City to act and restore proper lighting throughout Claudius Estate.”
