A letter from Ward 97 Councillor Jaco Englebrecht to his residents.
This year some progress was made in terms of service delivery to the people of Ward 97, but also one of much frustration with city entities.
The failure by the national government to invest in infrastructure until late in the day and the subsequent delays in the completion of Medupi has left the ward in development limbo, as electricity supply is so limited that there isn’t even enough on tap to allow for a new crèche or any similar small business.
I posted a question in council two months ago as to when the much-anticipated Lutz sub-station will be constructed and received a bit of good news that tenders will go out early next year and that construction is also scheduled to commence in 2014.
City Power indicated that this will also assist in ameliorating the crippling effects of cable theft, which has pestered the residents of Wilgeheuwel, Radiokop and Honeydew in particular, causing many businesses and private households great losses. This is to the fact that less cables will need to be laid across tracts of veld which is impossible to secure and exposed to many thieves. In the meantime, City Power is implementing temporary measures, such as casting concrete over underground cables.
More good news is that the very dangerous intersection of Paul Kruger and Amplifier roads will be reconstructed, so as to improve safety for vehicles that need to get into Amplifier from Paul Kruger Road travelling south.
In terms of the Integrated Development Plan, I will be required to submit requests for capital spending and maintenance again in early December. Road resurfacing will be the main thrust of these requests, especially for the likes of During, Penchantz, Handicap, Hole-in-one and Van Der Kloof roads.
The Roodepoort Athletics Stadium is also about to get some much-needed maintenance work done. This will be limited to the stadium building and the track itself is not included. I will be pushing for that to be done in the IDP as well as in the next financial year.
I would like to thank everybody who heeded the call to come out to register to vote on 9 and 10 November. Ward 97 saw a very high 3 500 new registrations. There is likely to be another registration weekend early in the new year and I appeal to all who have not taken the opportunity to do so to get that done. The 2014 elections will be crucial for the future of South Africa and in such exciting times, one does not want to sit on the side-lines and have other decide your fate for you.
I wish everyone a very, merry festive and holiday season, plus a great 2014.
Councillor Jaco Engelbrecht
Ward 97, City of Johannesburg
