I wish to respond to the letter from Tanya in the Roodepoort Record of 16 June, according to her suggestions. This is how I tried resolving the problems, before I wrote my original letter :
1. I entirely agree that individuals can pick up litter. My wife and I as well as a neighbour who has similar complaints do this on a regular basis. I have officially raised a request with Pikitup and called several times for assistance but the calls (even with an official reference) have yielded no results. I requested assistance from the area councillor who has yet to respond to my mails. It [my complaint] particularly applies to a huge pile of illegally dumped bags on the side of the road in Kloofendal. I phoned Pikitup, reported it, got a reference number – that was more than a month ago. Further correspondence has been of no use.
2. The vagrant issue is well-known to the police and housebreaking in the Constantia Kloof area has been attributed to said vagrants. I believe the police are trying to do something about this problem but their efforts are mostly in vain (not for a lack of trying, as I have personally seen).
3. The noise from the substation is the result of equipment being installed that is not suitable for residential usage. This is by the very admission of City Power. It is not the machinery being used to upgrade the power station. Residents have raised several complaints and requests for feedback have been subsequently ignored. The cause was determined (as far back as January) but the area councillor and City Power have remained unreachable regarding in the matter.
4. The rocks which have been defaced are enormous and are part of the rockface in Allens Nek – there is no way they can be removed. Furthermore, my thought was to paint over them in brown but I was advised that my act would have been illegal (I stand to be corrected on my understanding). I am now thinking to spray paint stripper [on them] in the hope the paint will peel off. The individuals who defaced the rocks may be looking to provide for their families but illegal acts are not acceptable.
It is clearly understood by those complaining that the council is battling to address the finances of the city, especially as fraud appears to have been responsible for stripping the city of much-needed funds. There is no doubt that this would affect service delivery but the issues raised by my neighbours and me are not even receiving responses from the relevant councillor so I would ask that one understand why my letter carries such frustration.
If the Roodepoort Record has a mechanism for me to share all the correspondence I have relating to the issues, I will gladly share it so that those such as Tanya can see that citizens such as myself are rolling up our sleeves to make a difference but the support received has been severely lacking. The fact that I am prepared to have my full name published as compared to those who have responded to my letters bears testimony to the fact that I am rather passionate about the issues raised but I am at my wits’ end due to the lack of support from the very council which should be assisting.
