Residents demand delivery during IDP meeting

05 April 2017

 

The time for asking the City of Johannesburg to deliver services is long overdue.

Now is the time to demand that the services be delivered.

 

This is the unequivocal and unambiguous message conveyed to City officials during the review of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) at the Orange Farm Multipurpose Centre in Region G on Tuesday April 4.

“Every year we raise the same issues and yet nothing comes of it. We feel as though no one is taking these matters seriously. We’re now demanding that all the concerns be attended to as a matter of urgency,” said disgruntled resident Bathlalifi Modise, 70, who has been living in Orange Farm for over 30 years.

Modise said none of the matters raised over the years had been resolved. “We’re not happy with what has been happening in this area. We’re only asking people from the City to come and take a walk through the area and have a look at the conditions we’ve endured all these years,” he said.

Other residents raised concerns around water shortages, poor road infrastructure, the lack of clinics and the youth’s inability to access educational facilities to further their training and skills development.

“Youth in this area are more likely to resort to crime and drug abuse because we have no facilities that can dissuade them from such activities,” said Christina Mthethwa.

In his presentation, Regional Director Mickey Padiachee said the IDP was aimed at ensuring that there were equal opportunities among residents.

“People are complaining about the lack of certain things in this community. But today we are here and through IDP, we want to ensure that you can submit all that you think should be done regarding your challenges,” Padiachee said.

“We need to come up with a collective solution because IDP is run by you in order to help the City to resolve your problems. But we need a long-term plan because there are certain issues that are recurring, much to the disappointment of many of you,” he said.  

The IDP is aimed at growing the economy and creating jobs, enhancing the quality of life of residents, advancing pro-poor development that provides meaningful redress and building caring, safe and secure communities. The IDP also looks into regional challenges hindering the development process.

Among common challenges that have been identified in Region G are cable theft, defacement of infrastructural furniture, illegal power connections,, dumping and littering, drug abuse and peddling, unemployment, poverty and other social ills. 

The citywide public consultation process, which started on Monday April 3, will culminate in stakeholder engagement session on Tuesday April 25 when the submissions and proposals from various cluster meetings will be communicated, discussed and, where applicable, incorporated into the final IDP document