Pretoria - The Kungwini Residence Alliance took its service delivery grievances yesterday to Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, who was in the area to launched the Ekangala Engineering School of Specialisation in their area.
The organisation’s leader, Vusi Mtshweni, said the aim was not to disrupt activities, but to show Lesufi that things were not right in the area.
The group, which marched to Tshwane House recently, was unhappy about their water and electricity supply, which was constantly interrupted. The residents believe things would be better if their now defunct municipality, which was disestablished in 2011 and incorporated into the City of Tshwane, could be revived.
He said the water supply was interrupted last week while they were experiencing load shedding. The frustrated residents opted to take action.
“The local Tshwane officers have no powers. Everything they say they need to consult with Tshwane House. There is a group of people blocking the R25 that links KwaMhlanga and Bronkhorstspruit because their transformer exploded and Eskom is refusing to assist them because it is trying to make those who were stealing electricity pay fines at the expense of the whole community.
“The people are saying they do not mind paying, but they want the City of Tshwane to get involved. But, the City officials are nowhere to be found. When people here start to protest it is not just about one thing, but a lot of issues.”
Spokesperson for the City of Tshwane, Lindela Mashigo, said the metro had managed to restore basic services amid threats and intimidation directed at its workforce by residents of the area.
“The City had to withdraw its employees and contracted entities last week as a precautionary safety measure. Services such as power failures, pipe leakages and sewer blockages were compromised during the stoppage.
“However, since the resumption of duties, the teams have managed to repair three major water leaks in Bronkhorstspruit. These leaks had caused severe water loss.”
Mashigo said that in addition, 13 sewer blockages were attended to between Thursday and Saturday in various parts of the region.
Areas affected included Masada Street, Police View, Market Street, Ekangala Section D, Proper Section, 18 3rd Avenue, 3816 Zithobeni, Kruger Street BHS, Corner Botha and Cathie Streets, 1524 Zithobeni, 3792 Zithobeni, 248 Ekangala Section A and 12 3rd Avenue.
“All power interruptions have been attended to and electricity supply has been restored. The backlogs related to water and sanitation were eradicated on Saturday, with some of the sewer blockages requiring the services of a sewer jet machine due to their complexity.
“The provision of water tankers will continue in areas that may still be affected by the limited pumping capacity due to the failure of one bulk supply pump.
“The City would like to urge residents to continue using water sparingly in order to allow the system to build up to its full capacity.
“We apologise profusely to members of the community who were severely inconvenienced by the service interruptions that obstructed the normal process of business,” he said.
Pretoria News