Pretoria - The community of Olievenhoutbosch Extension 60 yesterday marched to Tshwane House to complain about the lack of pedestrian bridges, access to clinics and provision of water.
Patrick Thembe, on behalf of the community, said they had been failed by the municipality from as far back as 2015.
“The municipality promised to build bridges and other things, but none of this has happened.
“They keep avoiding us, and now, fast forward to 2022. When it was the rainy season around the first week of March, they came to us and said they would construct bridges, but at the same time, there were houses being built, and those are being built one at a time.”
Residents of Olivenhoutbosch extension 60 marched to Tshwane House to demand service delivery and houses for their community #OlivenhoutBosch #Tshwane @CityTshwane #ServiceDelivery pic.twitter.com/S1sAQo39Oi
Thembe said they first submitted a memorandum of demands to Tshwane in 2018, but had not had feedback since.
He said the lack of bridges brought with it safety concerns. “When it rains, we cannot go to work, and our children cannot go to school because there are no bridges. It is absolute chaos.
“We are here to demand and not to ask because we are tired,” he said, adding that they were giving the municipality seven working days to respond.
They handed over a memorandum to Tshwane MMC for Human Settlements Abel Tau, who said demands would be looked into.
Thembe said if the memorandum was not responded to within the stipulated time frame, the residents would not be at peace.
“That would mean the municipality does not like handing over memorandums but prefers the hard way. We will do everything in our power to ensure they get the message.
“The last councillor told us there was a contractor that would come to install solar geysers, but it appeared the money was misused.
“We were also told that they will install water meters, but where the money for the meters went still remains a mystery.”
Thembe said they also had problems accessing clinic services.
“When we need to go to the clinic, we need to go to the other side and cross the bridge. But when it rains, the river is often full. It becomes a huge problem.”
Other issues on their list included water, housing and proper toilets.
“A contract was signed last month for water supply in the next four years. That means we will drink water from tanks for the next four years, yet we want water in our taps inside our yards.
“They did not even consult the leadership in the community that a new contractor was appointed for supply of water,” Themba added.
Pretoria News