Despite the ANC controlled Tshwane Council failing in its obligation to serve the community by providing basic services efficiently and effectively, there are sadly still some residents who continue to support the ANC and its politicians blindly, like sheep being led to the gallows.
Clearly the ANC of Mandela is not the same ANC of today, where corruption and incompetence in delivering proper services seem now to be the order of the day.
This follows the Laudium Sun receiving almost each day, complaints concerning poor service delivery in the Laudium/Erasmia area and even beyond.
In one of the recent complaints received, residents of Emerald Street in Laudium, have raised concerns about a damaged manhole drain with the concrete cover broken for months and the ongoing non-functional streetlights, which they say makes the place more dangerous, especially at night, for pedestrians who walk by.
Ebie Alli Jaffer of Emerald Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The problem with this damaged manhole drain and broken cover, which has been ongoing for a few months is really causing a safety problem for pedestrians and is also not safe for residents as well, because anyone can trip into the open manhole on the sidewalk. Many people use this busy street on a daily basis, including elderly residents, children, the pedestrians who walk past each day going to work and coming back from work after sunset, as this is the main route where they get dropped off by taxis. Even we, as residents, walk on the sidewalks at night to get our milk and bread from the nearby shops and this broken manhole situation is putting everyone at risk. We have complained about the damaged drain and the broken drain cover for months, still the Council has not come out and fixed it. It feels like our concerns are being ignored and no action is being taken, despite repeated complaints from the community. We don’t even have proper working streetlights and imagine at night, when we as old people need to walk to the shops, what could happen to us if we had to step into this open manhole. This is a very dangerous situation, especially for elderly residents who cannot see properly in the dark or for children playing in the area. They could so easily run into this manhole. Even younger people can get injured because the street is not lit at night, thus they would not even see the open manhole. This poor service from the Tshwane Council is really concerning because we pay our Rates & Taxes, but all the taxpaying money goes in vain, because the Council does not attend to the problems in Laudium at all. We expect basic service delivery complaints to be attended to immediately, especially with matters where our safety is at risk, but we are simply being neglected. The office of Cllr Patel is aware of the problem, but they have also ignored our complaints. We urge the Council and our Councillor to attend to the complaints of the open manhole and the non working streetlights on Emerald Street as a matter of urgency, before someone gets badly hurt or a child falls into the open hole. On the one side we have sleepless nights because of crime and now with the streetlights not working, it makes our street even more dangerous as criminals like the dark. Then on the other side, we have to worry that we or even our children do not fall into the open manhole. This is not the way residents should be living, in constant fear all the time. Things are just getting from bad to worse in Laudium, yet our politicians are doing nothing about it, while residents are constantly worried about safety. We are simply asking the authorities to take responsibility and address this issue before something bad happens. Immediate action is needed to fix the open manhole problem and restore proper streetlighting to the area.”
Ronnie Naidoo, also of Emerald Street, told the Laudium Sun, “These ongoing problems on Emerald Street with the open manhole and non-working streetlights have been going on for too long now. Many of us living on the street have complained countless times about the same open drain and streetlights not working, to the Council, but they have done nothing. It feels like our voices are not being heard at all and despite raising this issue over and over again, there has been no response or action taken. This problem has now become a serious concern for everyone living in the area, as it continues to pose a real danger on a daily basis. There are a lot of school children who pass here each day and this makes the situation even more worrying because children may not always be careful or aware of the risks. They use this street to go to school and come back home or catch their taxis on this street and the open manhole is right in their path. On top of that, any car can lose control and hit the open drain hole, especially at night if the driver is not familiar with the street or trying to avoid a dog running across as it is extremely dark due to the streetlights not working. We are also concerned about the lack of proper maintenance and attention from the Council. It is clear that these issues have been neglected for far too long and residents are now feeling frustrated and helpless. The longer this problem continues, the higher the risk of someone getting seriously injured. Our Councillor should also attend to this issue and ensure that the relevant people sort out the problem immediately, because we cannot wait any longer. We have already waited for months and there seems to be no urgency from their side to address the issue. We are tired of reporting the same problem over and over again without seeing any results. It is disappointing to see that basic service delivery is not being met, by those in charge.”
Emerald Street resident, Faiza Khan, told the Laudium Sun, “We are tired of the many fake promises made by the Council and the Councillor’s office and we want real action now. The community deserves to feel safe in their own neighbourhood and right now that sense of safety is being taken away because of the unresolved issues of the open manhole drain and the streetlights not working. Residents are constantly worried, especially parents whose children walk past this area every day. This is not just a small problem anymore, but a serious hazard that affects everyone. We are calling on the authorities to take responsibility and act without any further delay. They should also ensure that proper measures are put in place to ensure that such complaints are addressed quickly in the future. We hope that by raising our concerns once again, the Council and our Councillor will
finally take notice and do what is necessary to make our street safe for all.”