It is evident that residents of Ward 61 are discontent with the service delivery of the ANC-led Tshwane Council and the performance of ANC Ward Councillor, Naeem Patel.
Complaints after complaints keep on surfacing with regards to the poor service delivery and lack of performance by Patel, who many say seems to be mainly interested in promoting himself to climb up the political ladder of the ANC.
In one of the many complaints received recently, residents of Petrus Myburgh Street in Erasmia, have expressed their frustration regarding the ongoing faulty streetlights in their area, which remain on during the day, but go off at night. The residents say that adding to their woes, the faulty streetlights are also contributing to the high crime rate in the area, especially at night when the streets are dark. Claims have also been made that residents are made to pay for the wastage of electricity when the lights are switched on during the day, through higher utility charges imposed by the Tshwane Council.
Mohammed Ebrahim of Petrus Myburgh Street, Erasmia, told the Laudium Sun, “The streetlights in our area are on during the day, but at night, they are off. This is a serious concern because a lot of crime happens due to the darkness on our street. Who’s to blame? Of course, it’s the Council’s job to fix the streetlights and ensure that they are working at night and for Cllr Patel, as our Ward Councillor, to ensure that the job gets done. Streetlights are supposed to be on at night, but it seems our Council works differently. They switch the lights on during the day and switch them off at night, leaving us in the dark. It’s really a waste of electricity and results in a wastage of electricity consumption, which we as consumers at the end would have to pay for. Just imagine how much electricity is
being lost because of the Council’s negligence. I urge the Council’s team to come and fix the streetlights urgently. It’s not just one street, many of the lights in our area are on during the day and don’t work at night. I hope the Council and Councillor will address this issue and sort it out soon.”
Rana Ali, also of Petrus Myburgh Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The streetlights have been on during the day for many years, despite the many complaints we’ve made. Still, nothing has been done. We run a business from our home and it’s really dangerous for our clients to park their cars in the dark, where the streetlights are not working. The lights are on during the day, which we don’t need at all. What we need is for the streetlights to work at night. I hope the Council fixes this issue as soon as possible, because we really need proper lighting in our area at night.”
Aneesa Ismail, another resident of Petrus Myburgh Street, told the Laudium Sun, “The streetlight situation in our area is a serious matter. None of the lights work at night, but during the day, they are all switched on, which makes no sense. At night, it’s completely dark and the area feels like a ghost town. We live in fear because of the darkness and the Council is just wasting electricity by having the lights on when they aren’t needed. The Council must address this issue and fix it. We can’t continue living like this. Why should we install our own streetlights when we are already paying rates and taxes, which keep on going up, due to these kinds of electricity wastages? What is the Council doing with our money? It feels like they’re just filling their pockets, while not even providing proper services to the community. It feels like the Council is doing nothing in our favour.”
Attempts to get a comment from Cllr Patel were unsuccessful.