Ward 89 councillor, Amelia Bester, is leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of improving services for the people she serves.
On Saturday, 20 July, she, the new Urban Inspector, Henna van Niekerk, and various Residents’ Association representatives conducted an pre-oversight visit to identify hot spots in the ward that have long-standing issues that require a multi-departmental approach. This was done in preparation for the oversight visit to be conducted by the MMC for Economic Development, Leah Knott, in August, according to Amelia.
The ward consists of a number of RAs. Those visited included the Night Owls, Constantia Village Residents’ Association (CVRA), Constantia Kloof North (CKN), Constantia Kloof Residents’ Forum (CKRF), Vaaljakkals Tortoise Springhaas (VTS), Panorama Residents’ Association (PRA) and Fairland Residents’ Association (FRA), of which all have their fair share of service delivery frustrations.
Amelia and all the representatives spent the chilly morning visiting each RA and its hot spots, discussing what needed to be done to resolve the problems. Some areas varied in terms of service problems, but all were noted by Henna.
“These areas were identified as hot spots because we need political backing and a multi-disciplinary approach to get the issues resolved. Most are long-standing issues that are not easy to resolve, unlike potholes that can be logged and fixed,” Amelia explained after the pre-oversight inspection.
The common problem most RAs experienced was green spaces being occupied by vagrants and used for illegal dumping, or to harbour criminal elements.
Amelia encouraged residents to look into the adoption policy. “In terms of the adoption of open spaces, the policy has being simplified by the policy unit in the Mayor’s Office. It’s a public-private partnership,” she said. “The idea is for a group of residents to come together to draw up a memorandum of understanding with the City whereby they undertake certain tasks, for example, fencing a park at their own expense,” she explained.
She added that the idea has received some good response. “We have visited several spots where residents have made applications already and would like to adopt, fence and secure a public area at their own cost,” she confirmed.
The new Urban Inspector advised that she planned to tackle all the issues raised by re-examining them, and involving the relevant entities, including the provincial government, to see how we can assist the residents to solve their service problems,” she said.
Amelia provided a detailed report of each RA’s problems:
Night Owls
“The Night Owls identified the corner of Christiaan de Wet and Jim Fouché Roads as a hot spot where citizens are attacked by criminals coming doen from the ridge on a regular basis. The idea is to obtain funding to fence the area off all along Christiaan de Wet. No formal application has been filed as yet as donors and sponsors require an undertaking from the City that the ridge enjoys some protection status. The policy unit in the Mayor’s Office is also still busy simplifying the adoption process.”
Constantia Village Residents’ Association
“In the CVRA section, by-law enforcement is lacking and the impact visible. We have illegal traders, illegal signage/ advertisements, illegal taxi ranks and public defecating, urination and drinking. The road reserve along Jim Fouché Road is not well kept and City Parks’ tree pruning cuttings have been lying there for months now.”
Constantia Kloof North
“The Kroton North Park is used as a thoroughfare for criminals. Residents have applied for a firebreak to be burnt. City Parks has not yet followed up on the request.”
Constantia Kloof Residents’ Forum
“The CKRF has filed adoption papers with the City for the koppie area around the Johannesburg Water tower. Criminals hide behind the tower and the worst, A Re Sebetseng clean-up ever took place here.”
Vaaljakkals Tortoise Springhaas
“The VTS residents have made application to SANRAL to have the area along Hendrik Potgieter Road fenced as the thoroughfare from the road to the garage below has over the years resulted in an increase in the crime rate and illegal dumping. Since making application there has been no feedback. We hope to receive the backing of JRA and the MMC in realising this request. A further matter of concern is the number of speedsters and the speeds at which they travel through this RA. We hope to receive assistance in the creation or erection of some sort of traffic calming or regulating measure.”
Panorama Residents’ Association
“The main issue of concern in the PRA area is the informal settlement forming behind the Rocky Ridge complex. The PRA also raised the issue of illegal signage, out of order traffic lights and disregard of traffic rules/ laws.”
Fairland Residents’ Association
“Among the many other issues in the FRA, a location on 14th Avenue has become a hot spot for issues like illegal dumping and potholes, as result of the delayed response from the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). We await their response on the expropriation of a portion of Erf 4833 Weltevredenpark, the missing piece of the puzzle which will unlock the development of the Metro Boulevard and 14th Avenue Precinct.
“The Metro Boulevard/ PWV 10 has been on the cards since the early 90s, it’s a R160 million project split between Atterbury, Century and MTN. It opts to connect JG Strydom and 14th Avenue to the East of Hendrik Potgieter, whilst intersecting the N1 Western Bypass in Weltevredenpark.”
