Complaints of poor service delivery by the ANC-led Tshwane Council in Ward 61, continue to pour in, despite attempts by Cllr Patel to ‘hoodwink’ residents, that his ANC party, accused of gross corruption, is ‘on top of their game’ concerning service delivery in the area.
This follows residents of Emerald Street, who have been complaining of ongoing non-functioning street lights, now complaining of an ongoing water leak, which they say has been reported to the local Council office, more than three weeks back, but that their complaints remain ignored.
Tabassum Patel of Emerald Street, Laudium, complained to the Laudium Sun, “The water leak in front of my house has been going on for three weeks and no one from the Council has attended to the problem yet. The leak started suddenly last month, on Wednesday, June 18 and I believe it’s due to a damaged water pipe. We reported the water leak to the Council office several times and each time they say someone will come to fix it — but no one has showed up yet. The driveway at our house is also being affected by this leak. I want the Council office to address this issue as soon as possible, because we simply can’t continue living like this. The Council team needs to take action — we’re suffering a lot because of this water leak. The streetlights in our area also don’t work at all and there’s been a lot of crime lately because of that. Overall, service delivery from the Council is terrible and I really hope they come and fix the water leak soon.”
Vijay Budo, another concerned Emerald Street resident, told the Laudium Sun, “I’m really tired of complaining about the water leak — it’s also right next to my house. It’s been three weeks since the leak started and still no one from the Council has attended to the issue. I personally went to Councillor Patel’s office and spoke to a guy named Paul Bennet, who told me that someone would come and fix it. But it’s been three weeks now and still no one has shown up. I’m beginning to wonder if the Councillor is waiting to turn the water leak into a fountain, because clean water is just pouring out of the hole and it’s very difficult for us to walk or even drive through that area. The streetlights also aren’t working at all. Just last week, Council workers spent an entire day working on the lights, but the next day, they weren’t working again. What kind of service delivery is Naeem trying to portray to us? If he is tired, then he should tell the people and leave. It feels like the Council is just damaging things for the sake of doing something, without any real intention to fix anything properly for our community.”
Kana Bathy, another worried Emerald Street resident said, “I didn’t have any complaints before. Laudium used to be one of the only communities where everything was in place. But, over the past few years, I’ve seen for myself and also read in the Laudium Sun, that service delivery has really deteriorated. The Council workers and the Councillor need to do a better job to rebuild Laudium and make it the shining place it once was.”
