Lack of proper service delivery by the Tshwane Council remains a concern for residents living in Ward 61, including Laudium and Erasmia.
This follows numerous ongoing complaints to the Laudium Sun by residents, who say that the Council just ignores their various calls for assistance concerning a various range of complaints, regarding municipality matters. In one of the complaints received recently, residents living in Erasmia’s Steynberg Street say they are tired of complaining to the local Council about a missing manhole cover that seems to have been stolen some months ago. Residents say that the now open manhole at the corner of Hoof and Steynberg Streets, has created a dangerous open hole next to the street and near residential homes. The fear of residents is that the lives of the many children who play in the area is at risk as they could so easily fall into the manhole. Concern has also been raised about adults walking past the manhole, who could so easily fall into the open manhole, especially at night and
also of cars being damaged if parked on the pavement at the manhole. Residents say what is more frustrating is the seemingly don’t care attitude of the ANC/ActionSA controlled Tshwane Council who have failed to take action to replace the manhole lid which has been missing for months now, despite several calls made to the Council.
Residents are now pleading to the Ward Councillor and the Tshwane Council to act urgently on this matter, which they say is a serious safety hazard, which could cost the lives of others or cause severe injury.
Farhad Mohamed (41), who lives with his brother Khalid (34) and whose home is next to the open manhole where the cover was stolen, told the Laudium Sun, “I had a near accident with this open manhole. I almost fell into that hole in December. This open hole has been like this for months now and despite complaining to the Council, nothing has been done about it. It’s not safe for anyone, especially children who play around here and adults who walk here at night. The Council’s service delivery is not up to scratch,” Farhad said.
Another neighbor whose home is also near the open manhole, Hardus Badenhorst (29) who lives with his father, told the Laudium Sun, “I noticed the open hole but I never reported it to the Council. Honestly, I’ve seen it like this for as long as I can remember, it’s been a couple of months. I always thought someone else would have reported the open hole, but it is obvious even if someone did
report it, the problem still remains and nobody has attended to it. Besides the danger the open hole poses to all in the area, there is a bad stench coming from the sewage water running down there.”
When the Laudium Sun approached Ward Councillor Naeem Patel for comment, he said he was not aware of the problem adding, “We can only fix problems like these if the community informs us, but will now attend to it. The theft of public property is a crime, and it endangers lives. I strongly encourage residents to speak up so that we can find solutions.”
