Walmer township residents highlight grievances

SEWAGE spills, potholes, lack of sports fields, blocked stormwater drains and illegal dumping topped the list of complaints raised by Walmer township residents during the outreach programme by mayor Danny Jordaan and his municipal team last week.

Angered that the municipality did not respond to residents’ calls to fix a sewage drain that had been leaking for four weeks, resident Luvuyo Popo invited Jordaan and his officials to see the spill in Jerusalem Street.

“Go and see for yourselves what we face every day.

“Sewage has been spilling in that street for four weeks and it is running into our houses.

“We have been calling the municipality for a long time – water is leaking over our streets; nothing is done,” Popo said.

Jordaan and his officials visited Jerusalem Street after the meeting at Walmer High School.

Popo said the city was not prioritising Walmer township.

It was dirty and its potholed streets had no lighting. “Walmer is filthy,” Popo said. “Take a tour of the township, because when you come here you only stop at this [Walmer High] hall. “I was born and bred here. “In November, we had a pile of rubbish that was only picked up in January, and then you come here talking about public health?

“No, take a tour and look at what is happening in Walmer.”

Deputy mayor Bicks Ndoni urged officials to attend to the spillage.

“This needs immediate attention – sewage [in the streets] is not [to] be tolerated,” he said.

“People must not be subjected to unbearable conditions.

“Children play in those streets.”

Resident Nceba Dywili said he was concerned that infrastructure and engineering executive director Walter Shaidi talked about tarring roads in Walmer township when there were potholes. “The last time we saw a project tarring roads was in 2010,” Dywili said.

“We request in the new budget our roads must be tarred.”

Service delivery was also an issue.

Popo said: “All the [municipality’s] programmes are diverted to other areas.

“The municipality doesn’t care about us.”

Dywili highlighted a lack of sports facilities.

“The budget you talk about for Wallabies field – R8-million – is the same budget you gave us seven years ago.

“The northern areas, Motherwell, have stadiums – only Walmer does not.

“We have to hire Victoria [Park] grounds when we have matches here,” he said.

Veteran activist and Walmer township resident Moki Cekisani said the reason the area was dirty was the attitude of residents and the municipality not taking them seriously.

“I attended a meeting of the integrated waste management plan at City Hall today,” he said.

“The metro needs to eradicate [illegal] dumping [through] environmental education, and make sure you instill in those people the love for the area they live in.”

Jordaan said he would convene a “people’s council” meeting in the township at which the issues raised would be discussed – “We have to fix Walmer township.”

Jordaan said the township was surrounded by big developments yet it was ignored.

“You virtually live in heaven, because there is the golf estate, the wonderful shopping centre – and then there is this piece of hell surrounded by heaven,” the mayor said.