NEXT TIME YOU WILL COME OUT OF AN IMBIZO RUNNING – ANGRY MAMELODI RESIDENT

An angry Mamelodi resident warned MMC Jacqui Uys that next time she and her entourage will come out of an Imbizo (public meeting) running as they as residents will chase them away.

The irate resident delivered this stern warning at an Imbizo that had been called by the City of Tshwane in Mamelodi this past weekend.

“Next time you will get out of this meeting running because we are going to chase you away,” said the angry lady resident.

“All that you are doing is to take care of foreigners and people who live in squatter camps while ignoring us bona fide residents of Mamelodi who pay for services,” she said.

At the selfsame meeting, Penny Seshabela accused Uys of having returned billions of rand to the National Treasury after failing to use the said billions on service delivery matters.

To MMC Katlego Mathebe, Seshabela said the following:

“You tell us that you have spent money on Apollo lights, but we see no such and what we want is Apollos with CCTV cameras in order to identify criminals and combat crime in Mamelodi,” she said.

“You are taking people for granted, we have been attending imbizos like this for many years now and nothing is happening,” she said.

“You must go and change the present budget as it doesn’t serve us as residents of Mamelodi and Ward 93 didn’t receive even a single rand from the present City of Tshwane budget,” fumed Seshabela as she directed her concern at Uys.

She said during election campaigns parties like the DA, of which Uys is a member, come to campaign at areas like Ward 93 which is predominantly an informal settlement, but when it is time for services delivery the City of Tshwane, of which Uys is an MMC for Finance, comes up with stories that Ward 93 is private property and also that it is an informal settlement.

“We are tired of your delaying tactics, and we no longer want any further feedback except action from the City of Tshwane in teens of service delivery,” said Seshabela.

“We don’t have a problem paying for services, but my concern is that the Jojo tanks that deliver water to us are not washed properly, and we don’t want them anymore and you Jacqui must come and take those Jojo tanks and wash them up at the place where you live,” she said.

Seshabela pointed out that billions of rand were returned to the National Treasury yet only one Jojo tank is used to serve thousands of residents of Wars 93, something which is inadequate according to her.

“If you as City of Tshwane don’t do anything about our concerns this year, then you will have to step down and Tsamaya Road will be shut down by us residents of Mamelodi,” she said.

Another lady resident complained of leaking sewages that cause a heavy stink and also about impassable roads that are dilapidated and urged City of Tshwane Municipality officials to walk street by street in Mamelodi informal settlement s to see fie themselves that there are no roads to speak of.

The lady also complained about the high unemployment rate among the youth, urging the City of Tshwane to do something about the matter.

“We are not yet free, our children are unemployed and have resorted to criminal activities, yet if one goes to shopping malls one finds out that foreigners gave been employed at various businesses there” she said.

Member of local political party called Concerned Residents for Service Delivery in Mamelodi Morris Malape told the meeting that he was concerned about faulty billing system about which residents have not been properly informed.

“Are we not allowed to have a flat rate as residents of Mamelodi, and why even when we pay our debts it doesn’t show that there is a reduction in what we pay?” asked Malape.

Malape also wanted to know from MMC Uys as to what happened to the memorandum that was delivered to her (Uys) in March this year by the organisation Concerned Residents for Service Delivery in Mamelodi concerning the issue of rent.

Yet another lady resident told the meeting that she doesn’t pay rent as she can’t afford and that even when she does not rent there is no visible reduction in her rent debt.

Speaking to Tshwane Talka at the selfsame Imbizo in Mamelodi on Sunday, MMC Uys said she was in Mamelodi to hear the concerns of the residents so that they as City of Tshwane can use their input to govern the City better.

“It is very clear that there is a lot of people of migrate into the City of Tshwane abs that gives us serious challenges in all three spheres of government, namely the municipality, the provincial and the national government,” said Uys as she indicated that all spheres must work together to find a solution to the issues of human settlement.