Premier visits Clarkson

Abigail Cloete
NEITHER cold nor rain could keep people away from Clarkson’s Community Hall on Wednesday last week.
Local residents and others from as far as Woodlands, Joubertina and Coldstream gathered to participate in a community engagement session, organised by the Eastern Cape premier and the provincial government.

Premier Noxolo Kiviet together with the executive council led the session.

Executive mayor Khunjuzwa E Kekana explained to the gathering that the aim of their visit was to encourage community engagement by reaching out to communities and listening to their needs.

During the session, residents had a chance to state their concerns regarding the municipality’s service delivery.

One of the main issues highlighted was that there was still a great need for housing. Some complained about the poor condition of RDP houses.
Other issues mentioned were corruption in construction of houses, job shortages, the state of schooling and the need for a SAPS satellite point in Clarkson.
MEC for Human Settlement Helen Sauls-August said: "If people see corruption taking place, report it to the police or municipalities.”
She also mentioned that they had already started with repairing shoddy workmanship (in the construction of the RDP houses) and that the issue will be further looked at.
As for a police satellite point in Clarkson, she said they would have to look at the resources and do research on the incidence of crime in the area.