Recommendations were hard to distinguish from complaints this week at one of Region C’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) community feedback session at the Bramfischerville multi-purpose centre this week. The IDP sessions‚ which have been running almost daily since April 11 this year in different regions‚ are a way of allowing residents to communicate all their municipal service delivery issues with the City of Johannesburg and city officials to let them know what’s planned for the city.The sessions are scheduled into May.Residents of Region C‚ which consists of Florida‚ Thulani‚ Bramfischerville‚ Constantia Kloof‚ Northgate and Rooderport‚ held nothing back as they voiced their complaints to councillor Mandla Mlangeni of Ward 49.One of the issues they persistently raised was the lack of a local clinic‚ library and police station‚ despite Braamfishcherville having been in existence for 17 years.“How long must we speak up in these halls before we get services? We have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to make it to the clinic in Dobsonville. Otherwise you get there and they are not taking any more people”‚ said Alfred Jwara.Jwara was not the only one who felt the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) was not doing enough to better the lives of its residents.Pensioner Gloria Daki pleaded with the city’s officials to do more visits in the area.“We live in filth. Take a tour and see for yourself the difficulty we put up with. From the dust that comes from the mine dump to the pollution that fills our streets. We know Bramfischerville won’t be a Sandton‚ but is it too much to ask that we have clean streets?” said Daki.Resident Moses Manana asked that all the unutilised land be developed so as to eliminate hiding spots for criminals who have committed muggings and house break-ins.Other issues residents brought up at the session included the lack of tarred roads going into some of the township’s sections‚ the need for better taxi ranks‚ the high levels of unemployment‚ the lack of pedestrian walks‚ the dearth of sporting grounds and a much-needed rehabilitation centre for nyaope addicts.One of the city’s speakers‚ deputy director for Integrated Service Delivery Phindile Lakaje‚ admitted that the CoJ is facing difficulty in areas such as economic development‚ informal settlements‚ infrastructure maintenance‚ transportation‚ environment and urban management.“We make it our business to regularly meet up with councillors and the community so we can create an understanding as to what services we offer‚” said Lakaje.Sipho Madi from Group Strategy used the session to tell the residents of Region C of IDP successes over the past four years and the plans the city has for the 2015/16 year.He said there are six sections to the plan.These are: service delivery‚ which includes all forms of basic service delivery; the Corridors of Freedom‚ which will see the rollout of the bus rapid transit system to all areas of Johannesburg; Jozi@work‚ which is aimed at increasing employment; the Green & Blue Economy‚ which looks at new and innovative ways of recycling and creating renewable energy; the Smart City Project‚ which aims to put up 1000 wi-fi hot spots in all seven regions of the city; and communication and development‚ which looks at clear communication between the city and its residents.All of this is set to be done using the 2015/2016 budget of R52.1 billion. - The Times for RDM News Wire..