Hundreds of Mamelodi residents delivered a memorandum of demands to the City of Tshwane Metro Municipality on Monday this week.
The march was joined by MK party members in Mamelodi zone branch.
Marching under the banner of Mamelodi Concerned Residents for Service Delivery, the residents gave the City of Tshwane fourteen days to respond to their demands or else they will march again to the City of Tshwane’s headquarters Tshwane House.
City of Tshwane MMC for finance received a memorandum and sign it and promised to response to the senior citizens of Tshwane.
Their demands are as follows: 1 Scrapping of all debts owed by residents of Mamelodi to the City of Tshwane Metro.
2. To be invited to the municipal offices and be allowed to take part in decision- making processes as the municipal structures make provision for community involvement.
3. Application of the Municipal Systems Act and Public Administration.
4. Fixing and providing security to all leaking reservoirs because at the moment the water therein might be poisoned leading to those who consume it dying; drinking dirty water is a health hazard.
5. Allocation of RDP houses to rightful owners who are residents of Mamelodi because presently those houses are occupied by foreigners.
6.R40 flat rate for all residents.
7. Pensioners, orphans and unemployed people to be exempted from paying rent.
8. Abolition of all squatter camps as its residents are the ones stealing water and electricity from the residents of Mamelodi.
9. Put an end to the system of using estimations when billing residents.
10. Reduction of high burial costs and provision of buses and food to indigent families during funerals
11. Fixing of streets which have turned into gravels and also improving the drainage system.
12. Abolition of the tender system as it benefits only a few individuals and their friends and families.
13. All big companies doing business in Tshwane to pay rent on behalf of the community as the land they are occupying belongs to the community.
14. Upgrading of recreational facilities for the benefit of the youth as lack thereof leads to them indulging in substance and alcohol abuse.
The memorandum was read and handed to MMC for Finance Jacqui Uys by the party’s leader Shirley Mdhluli.
The party’s president Oupa Mtshweni bemoaned the fact that residents’ electricity gets cut off due to them owing rent to the municipality and that this is a great inconvenience.
“The municipality must stop providing free water and electricity to people living in squatter camps,” he said.
“Some of them are not South Africans and our parents have to pay for electricity and water for them,” said Mtshweni.
“We must be treated equally because at the moment the municipality is afraid of confronting squatter camp dwellers but is ready to cut off services of us who have proof of residence,” complained Mtshweni.
“We have registered for RDP houses via Form C in 1996 but up until now we have not received those houses,” he said.
“These foreigners have embassies, and those embassies must see to it what they do with their people and the services of local residents get cut off while those of foreigners are not,” fumed Mtshweni.
“The City of Tshwane must right its wrongs,” said Mtshwene.
Chris Simelani from Ward 6 in Mamelodi complained about the fact that whereas many people rely on grants as they are unemployed, it is unfair for the City of Tshwane to expect them to pay rents ranging from R4000 to R6000.
“All debts must be scrapped and we as residents must be allowed to participate in drafting the debt relief act,” said Simelani.
Lotus Atteridgeville Saulsville Civic Association (LASCA) member Mpho Mabala told Tshwane Talks that he attended the march organised by Mamelodi Concerned Residents for Service Delivery as its demands are similar to those of his organisation.
“We want the formalisation of squatter camps for South African citizens as our streets are filthy and our graveyards are in a horrible condition as they are neglected,” he said.
“We want to buy electricity directly from Eskom and the municipality must stop being the middleman as this leads to the price of electricity being expensive,” said Mabala.
I’m a resident. Of Mamelodi east I’ve been waiting for my R D P house since 1996 to my suprice people that are not residents of Mamelodi. Are the ones who are owning houses