Latest news with #Gatvol
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- The Citizen
Residents fed up with lack of by-law enforcement by City of Mbombela
Residents fed up with lack of by-law enforcement by City of Mbombela Residents and business owners are gatvol with the City of Mbombela's (CoM) inability to enforce by-laws. Illegal dumping is ongoing and cars are still being repaired on the sides of residential and industrial streets. According to residents, these issues have been raised with the municipality on various occasions but no action has been taken. Despite the CoM's claim that illegal dumping has stopped, it is still a major problem in Mbombela, White River and on the R538. According to a White River ward councillor, Rowan Torr, vehicles are still being repaired on roadsides, especially on Peter Graham and Theo Kleynhans streets. 'The streets are a mess because of spilled oil and littering. It is illegal and the municipality knows it but does nothing,' Torr said. ALSO READ: City of Mbombela tackles Gatvol issues, but it's 'not a one-day job' Car repairs on Stinkhout Crescent in Mbombela have left the area congested and covered with oil. Delivery vehicles, customers and staff of businesses in the area struggle to access their premises as gates are blocked by these cars. Despite the Service Delivery Drive, during which some of these cars on Anderson Street were impounded, most street mechanics have returned and the situation continues. Illegal dumping is still a major problem around Mbombela Stadium, the government village, the KaNyamazane Road, Andrew Street and various other areas. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to clear garbage that is dumped near their homes. The CoM's municipal manager, Wiseman Khumalo, dismissed allegations that municipal by-laws are not effective. ALSO READ: Unkempt pavements and parks leave Mbombela residents gatvol 'Illegal dumping occurs despite designated dumping areas being provided by the municipality. In the areas where we collect waste, such as Mbombela and White River, people illegally dump their garbage on the street. We have placed skips in rural areas which are cleaned on a weekly basis. These are not used, yet people blame the municipality. We do clean up and place signs that say 'No dumping',' he stressed. Concerning the vehicles being repaired on the streets, he said: 'People should stop taking their cars to the street mechanics and rather take them to registered workshops. We attend to the streets where people are fixing cars, but we need members of the public to work with us and this will stop.' He said people must report all these matters to the municipality and they will be attended to. Many residents claim to have reported the matters to the CoM, including sending photos of vehicle registration numbers of persons breaking the by-laws, but no action has resulted. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
18-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
City of Mbombela tackles Gatvol issues, but it's ‘not a one-day job'
While most residents are still gatvol with the City of Mbombela's (CoM) service delivery, some issues have been addressed. The Service Delivery Drive (SDD) was introduced to accelerate the services backlog in the CoM's wards. In Mbombela, residents in certain areas are still waiting for the grass on the roadsides to be cut, the public parks to be cleaned and the trees to be pruned. The CoM's mayor, Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, said they have started working in the affected areas in parts of Mbombela. The grass had been cut and some parks cleaned. 'I must emphasise that the CoM has 45 wards to look after and they all need attention. However, we noted the Gatvol outcry and our officials are attending to issues. It's not going to be a one-day job, but we are going to get to every affected area,' she said. ALSO READ: Unkempt pavements and parks leave Mbombela residents gatvol The SDD is currently in Matsulu after completing the work in KaNyamanzane, where municipal workers were held hostage by residents who were demanding a paved road. 'They were released after the police intervention. It shows all wards want to be serviced with our limited resources. All we ask from our people is that they are patient with us. Continue to report issues and they will be attended to,' she said. ALSO READ: Gatvol kick-starts City of Mbombela's Service Delivery Drive Motorists in Mbombela demand the CoM keeps its promises to repair the potholes near Lowveld High School, in front of Laerskool Bergland, and in Sering and Bosch streets, Koraalboom Avenue and parts of Dr Enos Mabuza Drive. These were reported before the SDD and still nothing had been done. Despite changing fittings, streetlights on most key roads are still not working. This includes traffic lights on Anderson Street that have been off for more than a year now. Makushe-Mazibuko reiterated that all the grievances would be addressed if reported to the municipality through the right channels. As always, no timeline was given for when the work would be done and a lack of funds was blamed. She also said its not like the municipality is not delivering any service and the little that it is doing should be appreciated. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Drive to repair Tshwane's ‘five' potholes
'People see the government and municipalities are neglecting their responsibility. We need to do it ourselves' Civil society organisations and community members continue to carry the responsibility of repairing potholes around Pretoria, while the municipality stays mum. Last Wednesday, Betereinders cofounder pastor Johan Erasmus and his team took to the streets with the NG Oosterlig en Dialogue community as part of their Gatvol pothole project to fix over 100 potholes in the east of Pretoria. 'We used over 100 of 35kg buckets of pothole mix with over 100 people helping,' he said. 'People see the government and municipalities are neglecting their responsibility. We need to do it ourselves.' Erasmus said there was no better feeling than seeing black and white people working together. 'Passing motorists encouraged us. They brought us something to drink. It was as if we were building or paving a road. It was like paving the nation,' he said. 'More than 10 potholes in one stretch' Last year, AfriForum volunteers' initiative to fix a pothole in Centurion was cut short after they were forced to stop by the Tshwane Metro Police department. In October, following the removal of Cilliers Brink as the mayor and election of ActionSA's Nasiphi Moya, her MMC of environmental affairs and agriculture, Obakeng Ramabodu, said he was going to propose that the memorandum of understanding between the City of Tshwane and AfriForum be cancelled. AfriForum district coordinator for greater Pretoria North Llewellyn Hemmens said they were constantly busy with repairing potholes. Hemmens said they have already used 20.25 tons of tar for potholes this year. Residents have been reporting multiple potholes around the city, including Olympus, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Villieria in the Moot, Doornpoort, Capital Park, and Brooklyn. Residents claimed some roads have more than 10 potholes in one stretch alone, with traffic circles not excluded. ALSO READ: WATCH: In lockdown with no water or electricity … thanks to a sinkhole Water leaks covered and left DA ward 85 councillor Jacqui Uys said last week the potholes on the corner of Libertas and Furrow Road in Equestria were caused by a water leak that was simply covered and left. 'One cannot make this up. The city today came and just threw some tar in the holes without fixing the leak. They left the big excavation that causes half of the road to be opened as it was.' Uys said the road has been undrivable since the middle of January. 'The mayor claimed Tshwane has only five potholes, Equestria alone had 197 – yet the community, along with the Equestria JEA and DA volunteers, has been working together to fix 100 of these and will continue until Equestria is pothole-free,' she said. City officials have yet to respond to the issue of potholes in the city. NOW READ: Tshwane under pressure as residents complain about water outages, power and potholes
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Unkempt pavements and parks leave Mbombela residents gatvol
Residents are still gatvol with the City of Mbombela's (CoM) inability to deliver on their promised Service Delivery Drive (SDD). Overgrown public parks and pavements, unpruned trees and unkempt grass have still not been attended to. Litter is also a major problem and residents fear criminal attacks will increase as a result of uncleared vegetation. Residents of Wilger, Palm, Alibama, Delta and Wolfaard streets, as well as those residing in certain sections of Dr Enos Mabuza Drive, complained that the CoM is ignoring their repeated requests for service delivery. ALSO READ: Local news City of Mbombela in hot water for alleged corruption Despite paying rates and taxes, residents are now banding together to clean their streets themselves. The unused area at the cemetery has deteriorated even further than ever before. Homeless people have moved in, making fires and leaving loads of litter behind. The park at the top of Polvy Street has become dangerous, with people consuming alcohol there and dumping the empty bottles. Despite these complaints, the CoM's municipal manager, Wiseman Khumalo, insists that litter removal, tree pruning and grass clearing are ongoing. ALSO READ: Gatvol kick-starts City of Mbombela's Service Delivery Drive 'Our municipality is servicing 45 wards, some without roads or water. We are aware that the residents complain because they are paying their taxes and rates. We are doing our best to attend to all with limited resources.' He also reiterated that the SDD is accelerating services and all wards are prioritised. According to him streetlights are being repaired and potholes are going to be attended to. 'Grass will not stop growing, but will be attended to. The litter its beyond our control because we have placed dustbins in hotspot areas, but people are ignoring them. We take responsibility to collect them. Our community members need to come on board and stop littering. I must admit that we have been slow in pruning trees, but we are now attending to them. People need to understand that we serve many, not only those in Mbombela. All we ask from residents is to be patient with us,' he said. Khumalo encouraged the CoM's residents to use available platforms to submit their complaints. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
