SERVICE DELIVERY CHALLENGES IN IVORY PARK
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is conducting community based planning (CBP) meetings across the city this month until early March. Due to COVID-19 protocols and restrictions the CBPs are held online on Microsoft Teams platform.
Last week Friday, 12 February 2021, was the turn of Ivory Park wards 77, 78, 79 and 133. The Ivory Park wards form part of Cluster 1 in Region A.
Region A is one of the most dynamic regions in the City of Johannesburg. It borders Centurion (part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality) to the north and Mogale City (Krugersdorp) to the west. To the east is the township of Tembisa, part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, and to the south it borders Alexandra, Sandton, Randburg and Roodepoort.
The region comprises of 15 wards and has a population of more than 575 134 residents and geographical area measuring +/- 321km according to CoJ data.
Cluster 1 of Region A has the following identified service delivery challenges for the different CoJ entities in Ivory Park:
For Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA):
- Insufficient and non-existent storm water infrastructure.
- Missing/damaged road signs
- Faded and missing road markings
- Frequent traffic lights outages
- Deteriorating gravel roads
The City’s current interventions are to repaint road markings and repair damaged traffic lights as and when reported.
For Johannesburg Water:
- Lack of grey water management in informal settlement
- Recurring sewer blockages
- Leaking communal taps
The City’s current interventions are to repair water leaks and sewer blockages as and when reported. KAE News can attest to this as all sewer blockages and water leaks reported through our Twitter account have been repaired by JW.
For Pikitup:
- Illegal dumping
- Infrequent scheduled refuse removal
- 240L bins not placed outside on collection days
The current intervention is the roll out of the 240L bins which we have been covering since the latter part of last year. One of the proposed long-term intervention by the City is to ensure the adherence of the collection schedule by Pikitup.
For City Power/ESKOM
- Theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure.
- Electricity theft (Illegal connections)
- Continuous power failures due to cable theft, vandalism and illegal electricity connections.
- Street light outages
- Frequent traffic lights outages
Current intervention is the removal of illegal connections, education and enforcement. During the CBP, KAE News bought it to the attention of the City that electricity supply in Ivory Park is unstable. Eskom sometimes implements power outages without notice. It would be ideal if the Greater Ivory Park area could be serviced by City Power instead of Eskom. Discussions between Eskom and the City are apparently ongoing.
For City Parks:
- Vandalism of park infrastructure
- Illegal removal of trees by residents
- Logistics of grass cutting responsibility in conjunction with JRA
- Failure to conduct litter picking prior to grass cutting
Interventions include security, tree pruning and education.
For JMPD:
- Land invasions
- Illegal signage
- Traffic congestion due to frequent traffic lights outages
- Illegal taxi ranking.
Current intervention for land invasion by the City is when incidents are reported, JMPD demolishes illegal structures through ward based policing. Proposed long term solution is for vacant land to be secured. With regards to illegal tax ranking the City has started engagement with Taxi Associations in order for taxis to utilise temporary allocated holding bays
For Social Services:
- Drug abuse and inadequate rehabilitation facilities
- Homeless people, and
- Lack of shelters for the aged in the Region
Rehabilitation centre established and family tracing and placing in shelters.
For Economic Development:
- Abandoned Kopanong stalls
- High jacked concrete trading stalls at Ivory Park Ext 2 Taxi Rank used for habitation
- Uncontrolled informal trading
No clear progress has been made by the City for these challenges.
CBP sessions allow you to have a say in the development of your community at ward level. Consultation is at a ward level and helps the City identify priorities for inclusion into the City’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP), policies and budget.-
Find some of the Key Impactful CBP Projects for Ward Ward 77, Ward 78, Ward 79 and Ward 133 with current status since they were raised by the respective communities as priorities.
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