Ward 16 residents frustrated by lack of park maintenance by the City of Ekurhuleni

by Cllr. Jaco Terblanche — DA Councillor for Ward 16 in Ekurhuleni

Date: 31 May 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni is disappointed to learn from the ANC-appointed MMC for Environmental and Waste Management Services, Ald. Khosi Mabaso, that there is no plan to cut grass in the parks of Ward 16, despite there being a budget available as prescribed in the most recent Integrated Development Plan (IDP).

During the IDP consultation process, residents requested that an adequate budget be provisioned for the maintenance of parks so that these green spaces can be used for recreational purposes. This budget, however, seems to have been squandered for other uses by the ANC-led coalition in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE), leaving rate-paying residents without desperately needed park maintenance.

According to MMC Mabaso, the Kempton Park Parks Department is unable to do their work because they have not received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for them to perform the maintenance function for over a year. The City’s Health and Safety Officers have subsequently instructed workers to cease all maintenance work until they receive the required PPE.

While the DA in Ekurhuleni, commends residents in taking matters into their own hands and service the parks themselves, the fact remains that residents are paying for a service that should be rendered by the Metro and it is indicative that service delivery has completely broken down under the ANC and their coalition* partners in the Metro. Uncut grass and unmaintained grass in parks is a health and safety hazard in the sense that the long grass lends to increases in cases of criminal opportunism, as well as increases in illegal dumping.

The DA has petitioned the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs at both a provincial level, to instruct the Executive Mayor, Cllr. Mzwandile Masina to urgently restore service delivery to the residents of Kempton Park.

#Time4Change

*Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Jaco Terblanche

DA Councillor for Ward 16 in Ekurhuleni