The residents of Ward 58, in Johannesburg, have given City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero 45 days to respond to their demands for improved service delivery.

On Tuesday, the residents from Mayfair, Fordsburg, Grosvenor, Langlaagte, and surrounding areas took to the streets of Braamfontein amid alleged longstanding service delivery challenges.

Water supply issues, infrastructure collapse, and hijacked buildings are some of the issues that are at the centre of their long list of grievances.

‘We want the mayor, the mayor is a liar,’ and ‘Speaker of Council has failed to keep to her promises,’ these residents chanted during their protest outside city offices.

Speaking on behalf of the community, community leader Aziz Ali indicated that the city has not done much to resolve some of the challenges that have plagued the community over a period of time.

“Apart from the ongoing water issues in Gauteng, Ward 58 is completely forgotten. We have no service delivery that we can speak of. From these placards, we are demanding water. We are demanding that our public spaces be restored because the community has lost its public places due to illegal street trading. We have hijacked city-owned properties, and uncontrolled illegal development is springing up with no oversight from the city. Our ward is a completely forgotten suburb,” Ali said.

According to Ali, many attempts to get the city to commit to resolving some of their issues have fallen on deaf ears.

“We have had numerous engagements with city officials, including MMCs, the Speaker, and other entities. They promised us service delivery, but nothing has materialised. This is what has led us to today. The water supply in Ward 58 is an ongoing issue. Some places have not had water for many years now. Sometimes water comes in at 8pm, and by morning, the water is gone again. We have had water cuts almost every day, recently,” he added.

Last week, the City of Joburg announced plans for a new pipeline on Harmony Street. This initiative aims to address the ongoing water challenges in Westbury, Langlaagte, and nearby areas by feeding water from the Crosby reservoir into the affected supply systems.

On Tuesday, Morero, through the city spokesperson, Phathutshedzo Mulaudzi, said the city has tasked its Water Task Team, comprising community members from Greater Sophiatown (Wards 58, 69, 82, and 86) and city officials, to conduct an oversight visit to oversee the cross-connection pipeline from the Crosby reservoir.

Another community leader, Yola Minaar, said Ward 58 has had little to no water supply for some time now, which is why they have decided to return to the streets over constant water challenges.

“We have decided to return to the streets and burn tyres, because that is what they want from us. The Speaker lies too much. She has been making promises to us, but has failed while our children are getting sick,” she said.

Mulaudzi indicated that the mayor had yet to study the memorandum of demands delivered to his office on Tuesday.

“Let me get back to you. I will have to gather the information from the relevant stakeholders, and will get back to you,” she said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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