Matlosana’s failure to cut overgrown roadside grass places motorists and residents at risk

Issued by Cllr Portia Burrell – DA Councillor: City of Matlosana
11 Jan 2021 in Press Statements

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Setswana by Cllr Portia Burrell.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned for the safety of residents and motorists after the City of Matlosana failed to cut the overgrown roadside grass in Stilfontein. Please see photos here, here, here and here.

The overgrown grass poses a risk to the safety of residents making it easy for criminals to hide and prey on passers-by. It also obscures traffic street signs and reduces the visibility of other cars on the road, especially at intersections.

Stilfontein used to be a clean and well-kept town, however, after years of neglect the town finds itself in a state of general decay. This has a negative impact on the community as a whole but also has a negative impact on property values and business sentiment.

The DA engaged with the Deputy Director: Community Services, Ms Masilo, and the Assistant Director: Parks and Development, Mr David Ramuwani, who informed us that the service provider’s contract has expired and that a new contractor will be sourced. The process was supposed to be finalised by September 2020, but this did not happen.

Parks and Recreation are responsible for keeping the environment clean and yet the municipality has outsourced this responsibility to a contractor. Funds used on the contractor could have been used to add to the municipality’s much-needed equipment shortages.

The municipality also funds an Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and has hired temporary workers who could perform this very function and yet they are not utilised to do the clean-up.

Community members are now resorting to cleaning parks and cemeteries themselves whilst there is a budget allocated and workforce hired for this purpose.

The DA will write to the Municipal Manager, Theetsi Nkhumise, requesting him to assign an EPWP team or the Parks and Recreation workers to cut the overgrown grass and to clean the Stilfontein area.

The delivery of quality basic services can improve the quality of life for residents and build a healthier and safer environment for all. This is a core function of municipalities yet Matlosana fails on every indicator.

Later this year the people of Matlosana will have the opportunity to use their votes to elect a responsive and caring DA government that would deliver quality basic services to all. DA-led governments across the country far outperform the ANC. It is time for this good governance to come to Matlosana.