Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga explains Eersterust protest issues

15 June 2018 - 10:45 By Timeslive
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The mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga. File photo.
The mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga. File photo.
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVE

A community in Eesterus east of Pretoria has been staging rolling protests this week‚ blocking roads with burning tyres and stonethrowing‚ culminating with vandalism at a police client services centre on Thursday evening.

A City of Tshwane deployment of a special team to the civic centre to engage directly with residents on their billing complaints had to be abandoned earlier in the day when they were intimidated.

Tshwane Executive Mayor Solly Msimanga has taken to social media in an effort to reassure the Eersterust residents that they have not been forgotten.

Here is his message to the community‚ containing an explanation of the service delivery issues at stake:

"Just this year alone‚ I have held four community meetings with the people of Eersterust addressing issues of the IDP in their respective area. I have also visited as part of the COSUP initiative as well as to finalize the demolition of the “spook” house at the cemetery that was harbouring drug addicts.

It became abundantly clear during these meetings that the area had suffered years of service delivery neglect under the predecessor’s tenure.

Understanding the plethora of the challenges faced by this community‚ the DA-led multiparty administration undertook to provide regular updates to the community on issues raised and to get the ball rolling in terms of providing service delivery in the area.

As such‚ our officials are working diligently with the limited resources at our disposal to ensure short term matters are prioritized by ensuring that grass is cut‚ parks are maintained and streetlights are repaired.

During the recent protest action‚ the community of Eersterust raised long standing issues with respect to housing opportunities‚ unemployment‚ power and water interruptions.

Unemployment

The 2011 Census report confirmed the following worrying figures of the employment status at Eersterust: Employed: 10 813 Unemployed: 3 643 Discouraged work-seeker: 707 Other not economically active: 5791

Housing

On the issue of housing opportunities; one of the biggest challenges the City faces is that some residents in Eersterust do not want to move out of the area‚ and that is not how housing and service stands allocation is done. Land for future housing development is very limited in the city‚ particularly in the Eersterust area.

We have thus accommodated qualifying Eersterust residents in Nellmapius Extension 22 and have requested all those that are registered on the Housing Database during 1998-99 to go to Mamelodi Mini Munitoria to complete the subsidy application forms‚ which is a process that is currently underway.

At present there are about 17 large vacant stands in Eersterust‚ however these are either privately owned‚ undevelopable or not zoned for residential purposes. For instance‚ five of these stands are zoned "educational" purposes and the Department of Education will need to verify whether the stands are indeed required for educational purposes. Six stands are zoned "public open space" and should be protected as such for quality of life. Three stands are zoned "special"‚ two "institutional" while one is zoned for a clinic.

Water supply

The bulk water supply in Eersterust and the surrounding areas is adequate. The Eersterus Reservoir was built and commissioned in 1981. The reservoir capacity is 15 Mega Litres. The water reticulation network is partly asbestos cement and UPVC hence the prevalent pipe bursts in the area.

The pipe sizes are relatively small and the volume of water supply is restricted which result in pressure build up especially during the night and in winter months. This has an effect on rising frustrations by community.

Apartheid engineering and planning created a sense of unhappiness amongst the residents. In addressing this deficiency‚ We have budgeted R102 million for the replacement of the worn-out network pipes throughout the city including Eesterust.

The sewers in some areas do not follow the contours which result in imminent sewer blockages.

The City is investigating the engineering solution to this problem and have further budgeted R30 million for the upgrading of the Baviaanspoort Waste Water Treatment Plant and R20 million to rehabilitate the existing sewer network spillages due to structural deficiencies and hydraulic capacity constraints.

Power interruptions

The many power interruptions in the township are as a result of cable theft and network overload due to illegal connections.

Most recently this area has been experiencing a high amount of low voltage power failures. Most of the breakdowns are due to theft and vandalism of the electricity infrastructure. All the other areas within Eersterust are supplied from the Eersterust substation which is currently aged and requires urgent refurbishment. An estimated amount of R7 million is required to replace the worn out conductors and rusted overhead mains.

While we can never guarantee that there will never be power interruptions‚ we commit to make every effort to provide uninterrupted electricity supply. To achieve this‚ we ask for collaboration and vigilance towards the City’s assets. Just recently‚ we had to replace batteries and panels that were stolen from the substation. The public must report illegal activities such as cable theft to the law enforcement agencies.

Rates and levies

Rates in Eersterust‚ like any other part of the City‚ are determined by the property value and levies are charged per consumption.

Substance abuse

Eersterust is one of the key areas receiving attention and priority on drug abuse. We have the Community Oriented Substance Use Project (COSUP) which is operational and deals with harm reduction in the area – that is rehabilitation within their communities. The City’s Health Department also facilitates the admission of willing services users to rehabilitation centres.

Furthermore‚ the City has inherited former Local Drug Action Committee (LDAC) from the Department of Social Development on July 1 2017. A framework was approved by the City’s Mayoral Committee on January 11 2018 to establish and support the City’s LDAC‚ and the Regional Drug Action Committees. As a priority region‚ Eersterust’s Regional Drug Action Committee was launched on April 24 2018. The elected committee members will be inducted and attend a workshop on June 20‚ 2018. A Business Plan for Eersterust will be finalised after the workshop for the city to support activities earmarked to fight the scourge.

Eersterust cemetery

Our resolve to rid the City of Tshwane of illicit drugs and related criminality in Eersterust was demonstrated when we demolished a vacant building known to harbour drug users at the Eersterust cemetery.

The building was harbouring nyaope addicts who were terrorising members of the community. The team involved in the operation had to remove a number of young people who were occupying the building.

We took these decisive steps as part of the clean-up and restoration of the cemetery. The team also conducted a drug and substance abuse awareness‚ which was conducted by members of the South African Police Service.

Indigent programme

The city has registered 885 indigent families from Eersterust who are receiving free basic services. The registration is ongoing and all residents who fall within the criteria are requested to visit the council offices for registration.

Way forward

The City will meet with the Eersterust leadership on 29 June 2018 to discuss the current impasse.

The destruction of property during protest is not in the best interest of the community. We condemn these violent acts and call on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute offenders. We call for calm and respect of other people’s rights who do not want to form part of the protest actions.

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