Durban — The residents of Valehaven Gardens in Phoenix, Durban, say they are fed up with the council providing shoddy service delivery.
The irate residents said an outdoor gym designed for recreation for the residents had been neglected for more than six months. They said the eThekwini Municipality Parks Department had failed to cut grass and any other alien growth in the recreational area to keep it clean and in a usable state.
The residents said the area had become a health hazard and a haven for criminals, rodents and snakes. It had now been turned into a dumping ground, due to it being neglected.
“There are other issues such as dysfunctional street lights and water leaks on the streets, that have not been attended to by the relevant municipality units, who have simply turned down the residents’ plea for the area to be serviced,” said resident Ashan Baboolall.
He said this had left residents with a “trust deficit” in eThekwini Municipality.
Phoenix Civic Movement leader Vivian Pillay said it was time for all concerned residents to have a dialogue on the future of Phoenix around service delivery problems and the City’s lack of accountability to ratepayers.
Residents said they would soon convene a community meeting.
EThekwini Municipality said it had allocated R63 million to enable the Parks, Recreation and Culture unit to procure critical equipment such as heavy-duty tractors, trucks, bakkies and other equipment for grass cutting and verge maintenance in eThekwini.
The municipality communications unit said a total of R8.1m of the funding would be allocated via the Safer Cities budget, to augment the Parks, Recreation and Culture unit budget as approved at the full council meeting on June 15.
EThekwini head of communications Lindiwe Khuzwayo said: “This infusion of funds will supplement the unit’s existing budget for acquiring 28 heavy-duty tractors, 20 trucks, 53 bakkies and other equipment.”
The deployed equipment will be used throughout the municipality to improve the maintenance of cemeteries, parks, pool areas, sports fields and other operational zones.
Khuzwayo said the acquisition of the equipment would help meet the demands and shortfalls of clearing verges, parks, sports grounds and other such council facilities.
Meanwhile, the Parks, Recreation and Culture unit teams were spotted on Thursday hard at work cleaning around Morningside and Greyville areas. The unit said its activity formed part of the ongoing grass-cutting cycle and verge maintenance in various areas.
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