Engagement with Traditional Authorities
PHASE 2: PHASE 2: ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS AFTER THE TABLING OF THE DRAFT IDP AND MTREF
13. EKANGALA COMMUNITY HALL, REGION 07: 13 APRIL 2019
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
Phumekhaya are waiting for basic services The delivery of the basic services required at Phumekhaya will be delivered to the Municipality on 23 April 2019 and thereafter it will be distributed to the area.
There was a housing registration process at Ekangala which took place but there is no budget allocated on the draft IDP 2019/20 budget.
The Gauteng Provincial Government is aware that for the past fifteen years, when the areas belonged to Mpumalanga, there was no service delivery in the Ekangala. The Premiere of Gauteng promised that there will be an allocation of stands and
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houses, although there has been no indication of the identified areas where there will be the stands or houses to be allocated.
The people are drinking dirty water in the Ekangala area.
The water that the CoT is supplying in the area is clean, sometimes there might have been burst pipes. Sometimes one can find dirty soil in the pipes after they have been fixed and soil can cause the water to be dirty. Normally the water treatment plant tests water two hours in every 24 hours.
It has been a long time since Government built any RDP houses in the Ekangala area.
As Ekangala area now belongs to Gauteng Province the RDP houses will be built.
Is there any plan from the City of Tshwane to get the Ekandustria Farms functioning again?
The Ekandustria Farms still belong to the Mpumalanga Government but there are discussions between Mpumalanga and Gauteng. Soon, when the transfers are done, it is believed that the City of Tshwane is ready to attract investors that will be able to invest in Ekandustria Farms which will create jobs.
The presentation on the Integrated Development Plan for the budget of 2019/20 does not include feedback on the 2018/19 budget.
The 2018/19 Financial Year is not yet completed but before the end of June 2019 there will be deliverables from the budget allocated.
Why is there more budget for 2019/20 allocated to Zithobeni Area?
It is true that most of the budget is allocated to the Zithobeni areas, this is caused by the previous Government that most of the land in Region 7 belonged to Mpumalanga Government.
Now the Land is being transferred to Gauteng and there are discussions with the Premier’s Office where he promised that there will be Projects allocated to this Area from the Provincial Government.
The Phumekhaya informal settlement is eight years old now but it is still excluded from the Budget, why?
The purpose of this Public Participation is to allow the Community Members to make their submission on issues so that they must form part of the Integrated Development Plan and Budget before approval.
Where does the City of Tshwane get the information that assists them in drafting the Integrated Development Plan and Budget 2019/20
The information used to draft the Integrated Development Plan and Budget is from the submission from Councillors and Executive Mayor‘s visits and the Communities.
When will the Phumekhaya Informal settlement be formalized?
It would be indicated by bringing service to Phumekhaya Informal settlement and it does not mean that the Area is formalized. There is still a process to be followed for formalization. The formalization process will start by remarking the Shacks and checking how many people qualify for RDP houses and stands. The Municipality must first test the soil to check that the soil is suitable for the development of the Area for permanent stands.
Is Regional Executive Director for Region 7 satisfied with the Budget presented today?
The Regional Executive Director for Region 7 indicated that he is unhappy about the Budget allocated for Region 7 but people must know that the needs will always be higher than the Budget but there is money allocated for Region 7 at least there is work in progress.
It was indicated in the presentation that Region 7 is the biggest Region and is regarded the highest in poverty, how then is it possible that it received the lowest budget allocation?
It is true that Region 7 is the biggest but the Region has the biggest land than other Regions which are small in terms of Land but have high density in population then it means if we were supposed to allocate stands in Region 7 we will be able to allocate you bigger stands compared to other Region.
That local people are not considered on the tendering process in the City of Tshwane.
There are processes of Supply Chain which are to be followed in the City of Tshwane, if there are people with the correct
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documents they can bid for tenders in the City. Tenders are advertised in newspapers. If a person is residing in the City of Tshwane he/she will have better chances as there are points allocated for City of Tshwane residents.
The drinking water supplied by the City of Tshwane is dirty at the Farms.
The water supplied at the Farms should be clean as the Contractor appointed to supply water has a contractual obligation to clean the JoJo tanks every six months. If this is not happening it can be reported to the Councillor or the Municipal Officials.
There are solar panels at the Farms which are sometimes not working for more than three months.
The Executive Mayor has promised to visit people on the Farms this month and the way forward will be discussed.
There was a storm which damaged people’s roofs and the Government promised them that they are going to replace those damaged roofs, however until date there are roofs which have not yet been replaced.
The issues of damages roofs will be reported to the Gauteng Provincial Government as it is their responsibility.
A promise was made that the asbestos roofs will be replaced as they are a health hazard.
Until today those roofs have not been replaced.
The asbestos problem will be referred to the Gauteng Provincial Government for intervention.
The Community has noted that there is no Ward Councillor in the meeting and they have questions which are directed to them.
If the community members are unhappy about the Ward Councillors they can report them to the Speaker of Council or raise their issues with PR Councillor deployed in their different Wards.
The Community is requesting street names in the Ekangala area. It is difficult to give directions when calling for an Ambulance or the Police.
Noted, more information is needed on which streets need speed humps
There are illegal taverns in the Phumekhaya Informal settlement which makes noise for 24 hours and we have children which are expected to go to school.
The issue raised is a crime and it is noted. The relevant Department of the Metro Police and South African Police Services will be informed and requested to patrol that area.
The Community requested fencing at Ekangala Cemetery, not the closure of the Cemetery. Now they are forced to bury their loved ones at the Regional Cemetery which is expensive.
The cemetery you are referring to is not safe to bury loved ones, the area is wetland and when you are busy preparing a grave you will see some worms coming out and when the Farmers drill water boreholes they are going to use it for irrigation of their vegetable which they sell to South Africans.
How many people are going to be sick because of such water?
There are Areas at Ekangala where there is a rise in crime. A request was made that the Police patrol the area especially over weekends.
Noted. The relevant Department, the Metro Police and South African Police Services will be requested to patrol the area.
The Budget allocated for Early Childhood Development is small and the Early Childhood Developments projects are playing an important role in the Communities.
The Community has requested that Ekangala Clinic be open work for 24 hours a day.
The Community has requested speed bumps.
The Budget allocation for fighting drugs and substance abuse is welcomed, but there is not a programme that is allocated for Region 7 and there are a lot of Youth which are on drugs and are doing substance abuse in Region 7.
The Community of Phumekhaya Informal settlement requested that they benefit froom the Budget allocated for electricity development.
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That there is a road project in at Ekangala where the billboards indicate that they are upgrading the roads, but what is actually happening there is that the road is being reconstructed into a smaller road.
There is sewer spillage at the Ekangala Sewerage plant which causes a health hazard like flu to our children and the Livestock drinks the water from the Sewerage, nothing has being done there.
The Community enquired how they are expected to pay similar amounts on rates and taxes in comparison with the people staying in the CBD while they are staying in Farms/semi-rural Areas.
How are they going to pay municipal services when 98% of them are unemployed?