| Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Lizelle Stoltz.
The community of Hartbeespoort in the Madibeng Local Municipality rejected the budget for Ward 29, 30, and 33 at a Public Participation Budget Meeting held recently because it failed to include funding for infrastructure, maintenance, and service delivery in these wards. The DA wrote to the Executive Mayor, Cllr Douglas Maimane, opposing the proposed draft budget and requested that it be revised to include funding for urgent infrastructure maintenance and service delivery improvements before the next Budget Meeting. Hartbeespoort continues to endure numerous infrastructure and service delivery failures which the municipality refuses to address. The town currently has six asbestos water lines that are unable to take pressure above six bar, however, to provide water to certain areas and the reservoirs, it is required to raise the pressure to at least eight bar, causing multiple pipe bursts on a daily basis. Another major concern is the condition of the sewerage treatment plants. Failure to maintain and upgrade sewerage lines in Hartbeespoort, Refentse, and Sunway causes a continuous raw sewage overflow, polluting the Rietfontein plots. The sewerage plant in Sunway is still not secured while children continue to play in the area posing a serious health and safety risk. The electrical infrastructure at Melody Plots is in near collapse and the lines connecting Landsmeer and Meerhof requires an urgent upgrade. In 14 months, those areas have experienced 67 power outages (excluding loadshedding) and as a result, Ifafi and Meerhof were also left without electricity supply. Hartbeespoort’s roads in Ifafi, Melodie, and Schoemansville are in a terrible state and require immediate attention. There are sections of roads that are destroyed, but no funds have been allocated in the proposed draft budget to begin repairs and resurfacing of the tar roads. The ANC governed Madibeng stands in stark contrast to municipalities where the DA governs. It has repeatedly been demonstrated that only in a DA-run municipality will the service delivery needs of residents be prioritized. Where the DA governs, infrastructure maintenance and quality basic service delivery to all residents is the norm. |