IDP hears that things are not fine in Finetown

04 April 2017

 

Residents of Finetown in the City of Johannesburg’s Region G expressed their dissatisfaction and frustrations with the “slow pace of service delivery” during a 2017-2021 Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and 2017-2018 Budget outreach meeting at the Finetown Multipurpose Centre last night (Monday April 3).

 

They said they felt neglected as there had been no visible development initiatives in the area over many years. They also raised their ire over the escalating incidents of cable theft, illegal power connections, the lack of sports facilities and other amenities, poor road infrastructure, the lack of water and sanitation in many parts of the region, defacement of street furniture, proliferation of drugs and illegal dumping.

Among those who expressed their concerns was Goodenough Masuku, who said Finetown was in dire need of public amenities such as libraries.

“When you look at the nature of this community, you see the need immediately,” Masuku told Member of the Mayoral Committee for Housing Cllr Mzombanzi Ntuli.

He said a library would help in the development of the local youth. “There are many young people in this community who have completed Grade 12 yet they are frustrated with nothing constructive to do,” he said.

Masuku said such a facility would help create awareness of government programmes and initiatives such as learnerships, internships, Jozi SME Hub, to mention a few, among the youth.

MMC Ntuli reassured residents of the City’s commitment to bettering their lives. “Essentially, what this means now is that we will have to go back to the drawing board to ensure that we resolve these problems. We firstly need to prioritise the needs of the people before we go ahead with the implementation of the IDP. We need to look at the issue at hand.”

Other concerns were directed at municipal-owned entities such as Johannesburg Water, City Power and Johannesburg Roads Agency.

Regional Director Mickey Padiachee said City officials had noted all the concerns raised at the meeting.

“Residents have their issues raised with us individually. After this, we will be communicating with them directly regarding service delivery concerns,” he said

“We also want to build a strong relationship between the City and the people, which means we will work around best forms of communication.”

The IDP meeting was one of more than 20 to be held throughout the city over the next three weeks. They will be followed by an IDP Summit at which residents’ inputs and ideas will be consolidated ahead of budget allocations and implementation.