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Citizens air grievances at IDP road shows
2 May 2007 By Clifford Mogotsi THE ever-sweltering debates on housing, unemployment and high service charges were again raised by the majority of residents during Mogale City's Integrated Development Plan (IDP) road shows. The council had long presentations to give - including figures on household arrears owed to the municipality - yet most ratepayers came to the recent meetings already well prepared, with their concerns written down. The Freedom Charter's prescription that "The people shall govern" held sway and council officials and politicians jotted down the issues raised by citizens. On the road shows Executive Mayor Koketso Calvin Seerane, together with councillors and officials, listen to and discuss feedback from residents; through this consultation with its citizens, the City prepares its IDP. This strategic document guides all planning, management, investment, development and implementation decisions over the next five years. "There is a general agreement among us here that there is a need to create platforms of this nature to get innovative ideas from members of the public," said Seerane, speaking at the mayoral chamber. "We need to look beyond the traditional methods of creating platforms for our people to get their views [across]. "We are looking forward to expanding our network with local stakeholders … I would like to encourage our communities to be involved in seeing the broader picture of the programmes of the City. "As the government we do not have the wisdom of Solomon to deal with issues related to service delivery without involving our communities. We are human beings and cannot do things alone without engaging our communities in all the activities that we intend rolling out." The road shows began in the rural area of Hekpoort, where unemployment and evictions were the main concerns. For example, earlier this year, 18 families were evicted in Muldersdrift; in that instance the council took steps against the land owner. However, the problem of evictions still persists, and road shows in the City's rural areas addressed this. In Magaliesburg angry residents argued that job opportunities were not benefiting them and that they received poor service delivery. "Our area smells because of overflowing sewage. We have reported it, but nothing is being done. Please get rid off staff members who are incompetent," urged elderly resident Martin Kwele. Other areas visited on the IDP road shows were Tarlton, Greater Kagiso, Azaadville, Lewisham, Kagiso 1, Munsieville, Rietvallei 2 and 3, and Krugersdorp. In some of the urban areas, residents demanded houses, jobs and better services, while municipal officials and councillors urged people to pay for their services. According to the City, Kagiso residents owed the municipality R257-million for services, followed by Lusaka owing R73-million, Krugersdorp owing R67-million, Munsieville owing R63-million, businesses owing R35-million, the government owing R11-million, and Azaadville - with the lowest arrears - owing R2-million.
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Mogale City councillors and officials consult with the community as part of their IDP roadshow
Related stories Families evicted to make way for golf estate Sanitation project targets bucket system Housing on mayor's agenda Service delivery is mayor's priority Millions set aside to upgrade council skills City discusses development plans Land, houses and jobs concern citizens |
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