Mayor Gwamanda promises to address service delivery issues in Diepkloof hostel

The City of Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, said the living conditions in Diepkloof hostel were disheartening. 

The mayor visited the hostel on Wednesday morning and assured residents that the municipality will address their service delivery issues.

His visit, with the MMCs and city officials, came after a series of protests in the area with residents demanding electricity and solutions to water and sanitation problems.

Community leaders took the mayor on a walkabout to allow him to experience their daily living conditions.

He subsequently addressed residents at the community hall and assured them their service delivery issues would be swiftly addressed with the financial year starting in July. 

Scores of residents braved the cold weather to meet the mayor.

“With the growing cases of disaster happening in South Africa and Johannesburg in particular, the structures are caving in and I have come to realise that even the basic services our communities are entitled to are non-existent,” he said.

He said it was unfortunate that his visit came as a result of demonstrations, which he indicated was the only process people understood to get results. “We are here to respond to the needs of our people and we are here to respond with dignity. 

“We have engaged with the leadership of the Diepkloof hostel to agree with the first phase of the response and focus on the most important aspects of their daily lived experiences,” he said.

He said he had assurance and commitment from the officials in the city that they would diligently implement the agreements that were reached with the leadership of the hostel.

He said the other pressing matters such as the housing backlog and refurbishment of infrastructure was a discussion which needed to be undertaken on an intergovernmental level.

“Some of the services required here are not within the ambit of the city to respond to,” he said.

He said the city had a budget that would be channelled, not only towards the Diepkloof hostel, but the refurbishment of other hostels around the City of Johannesburg.

He said the new financial year starts on July 1 with a budget in excess of R120m for refurbishment.

“The current administration must make sure we reiterate the priority of our people’s services in the manner in which they are entitled to with dignity,” he said.

TimesLIVE