DA response to CRA by-election service delivery request

With a pending by-election in Ward 90, the Craighall Resident’s Association (CRA) has formally requested that both candidates standing for election submit a proposal which attempts to adequately respond to a key community issue.

The issue, or more accurately the issues that have been raised for attention flow from the City’s deteriorating management of the Braamfontein Spruit. It is worth noting, that although the issues presented are indeed pressing and require swift and decisive action – these issues are themselves not unique to the Ward (or the surrounding Wards) and are indeed characteristic of major cities all over the world. That the City of Johannesburg has failed spectacularly to address these issues in any meaningful way is a result of the general malaise so evident in the administration of the City, where devoid of adequate systems and processes, the City is unable to address the underlying social issues of poverty, joblessness and housing.

That the problem is not unique will provide scant comfort to residents of affected Wards, who in the absence of effective City government over the past 15 years have been left largely to their own devices to address complex social issues without the necessary resources or adequate assistance from the City.

In formulating a forthright response to the issues at hand, it should be made abundantly clear that there is no simple solution. Indeed, a number of competent Ward Councillors and Ward Committees from across the political spectrum have, over the past 15 years, attempted to address the social issues associated with the Spruit. These attempts have been largely unsuccessful.

The response that is offered here provides a frank appraisal of the various sub-issues that must be individually addressed if we are to successfully reclaim the river for community use and enjoyment. The response is both practical and implementable. At its foundation it proposes a two pronged approach that calls for better co-ordination of entities tasked with management of the Spruit while at the same time strengthening and deepening community involvement to better hold the City to account and in so doing affect meaningful change.  

The solutions proposed here will not resolve all issues overnight, but will ensure that continued pressure and sustained attention is paid to the improvement of the management of the Braamfontein Spruit. It builds on the legacy and achievements of both Judy Stokill and Ian Ollis and commits me as the DA’s candidate for this Ward to swift action.

Each issue is now discussed in turn.

By far the most complex of the issues presented for review is the issue of the homeless who make their home on the banks of the Spruit. This is particularly the case since, in response to questions asked by the DA’s previous Councillor for this Ward; the City admitted that neither national, provincial nor local government had developed a plan for dealing with the large numbers of South Africa’s homeless.

In the two years since the City provided the DA with this answer, it has made no attempt to address this issue. The City has no plans to meet the needs of the destitute, it has no plans to assist suburban communities as they attempt to assist the homeless who are taking refuge in the City’s open spaces and there are absolutely no significant resources to deal with this problem.

In spite of complete inaction on part of the City, the DA, through its Ward Councillors have taken a number of steps in an attempt to provide permanent shelter for disaffected populations living along the Spruit. In Ward 90 specifically, Ian Ollis approached a number of NGO’s, churches and Homeless associations to have the homeless moved out of parks and open spaces into homeless shelters and although some progress was achieved with the help of Mes Aksie (a Hillbrow based homeless shelter), the location of the shelters - which raises the transport costs of the homeless - meant that the solution proved unsuitable to the homeless population. Further complicating the issue is the fact that many of the homeless reside in South Africa illegally and therefore are weary of interventions that would highlight their status as illegal immigrants to local authorities. 

Without the full involvement of both the Provincial Department for Social Welfare and the City’s Department for Social Services, little can in fact be done. The DA can not force the homeless to relocate, and far too few shelters exist in the northern suburbs to accommodate all those in need. New systems, processes and resources are required. Only in a DA governed City will this occur.

It is therefore my opinion that our engagement with the homeless population along the Spruit would best be served by undertaking the following actions:

·         Ensure better by-law enforcement with the support of the JMPD;

·         Prevent the establishment of permanent settlements, which later become a breading ground for crime, by sending in the JMPD and SAPS;

·         Work with NGO’s and Homeless associations to develop social infrastructure to assist homeless populations. The DA’s Judith Briggs currently chairs the Rosebank Homeless Association, which has made some progress in dealing with the issue of homelessness in the Rosebank area. There are lessons here which might assist us;

·         Work with Ward committee to monitor the situation.

·         Strengthen DA support in the area and across Joburg. A DA led City will make the difference.

Given the cross-cutting nature of the problems presented by the Spruit, the CRA’s suggestions around an overseeing body are well received. It is however worth noting that the Mayor has recently reshuffled his mayoral committee and has in fact done away with the Mayoral Committee post for the Environment.

A new MMC is thus responsible for environmental issues and is probably unaware of the cross-cutting issues presented by the Spruit. In order to raise the profile of the problems facing communities along the Spruit I will formally write to the new MMC and alert him/her to our concerns and request him/her to undertake a site visit in order to demonstrate the challenges our community faces. In my letter, I will address the issue of a revitalized Braamfontein Spruit Forum. I will also encourage all RA’s along the Spruit to do the same. Where there is political will from the new MMC, I will support the reestablishment of a new Braamfontein Spruit forum.  

With regard to the issues of flooding, the City has committed itself to replacing aging water pipes at the behest of the DA. Some pipes have already been replaced in Parktown North and some in Parkmore. I will rely on the resident’s associations in the Ward to alert me to the need for specific pipes to be replaced and I will request the budget to do so in the IDP.

With regard to sewerage pipes, the city has drastically increased capacity for processing sewerage and waste at the Northern Sewage works. The problem of spillages therefore occurs where sewerage pipes in the Ward become overburdened. We will need to get these replaced. To do this I will request Joburg Water to place this in the IDP. I will also ask the Rangers along the Spruit to report the locations of sewerage spills to me so that I can ensure that Joburg Water deals with the spills speedily and efficiently to prevent the raw sewage from causing any long-term damage to the Spruit. 

Litter is indeed a significant problem across the City. Again this problem can be traced back to ineffectual management by the City, where pollution and litter seem to enjoy little attention from the City’s administration. Better processes are required to manage pollution in the City effectively.

With regard to the pollution affecting the Spruit, I will request that a litter trap be placed on the Spruit by the City’s Department of the Environment. These are highly effective and have worked well in other parts of the City. The ANC government has itself recognized the functionality of litter traps and has in principle committed itself to the broader roll out of these traps.

The failure to adequately enforce by-laws is proving a major challenge across South Africa where lawlessness seems almost endemic. The creation of the JMPD in recent years to assist in better by-law enforcement has proven largely ineffective.  

Resident will however have noticed less illegal dumping in the area following the competent work of the Ward Committee, my predecessor Ian Ollis and local RAs who were active in reporting this problem to City Parks and Pikitup. Fines were subsequently issued and ruble was removed. Effective communication with JMPD ensured improved patrolling along the Spruit and across the open spaces in the Ward generally.

Ian OIlis was also successful in ensuring that fences be erected and maintained along the Spruit to ensure only limited access by cars and trucks. This significantly reduced the ‘opportunity’ for dumping along the Spruit and marked decline in dumping has been evident. I will work with the resident’s associations and City Parks to ensure this policy is extended across the length of the Spruit in our Ward. I will also ensure that JMPD inspect and fine business and individuals dumping along the Spruit, and will also follow up on reported cases of dumping and ensure that Pikitup and City Parks remove rubble.

The CRA will also be pleased to note that the Mayor recently announced in his budget speech that the City would put greater effort into preventing illegal dumping. I will endeavor to remind the Mayor of his commitment should he forget it and leverage his commitment in my dealing with City Parks and Pikitup. 

I welcome the CRA’s concern regarding the development and maintenance of public amenities. Public spaces play a vital role in the development of strong communities and I look forward to working with CRA as we attempt to develop and maintain public spaces in the Ward.

With specific reference to the Environmental Centre and Delta Park, is incumbent upon me to point out that neither falls within the boundaries of Ward 90. The issues you raise here should in fact be addressed to Councillor Don Forbes. It is however worth noting that Don spends much of his time addressing his Ward’s concerns regarding Delta Park and I will kindly invite Don to meet the CRA to explain and detail his work relating to the Centre and Delta Park. I will also request that his Ward Committee pay specific attention to the problems raised by the CRA. I will request that the Ward Committee keep us informed of major decisions regarding the environmental centre and Delta Park.

With regard to the decaying amenities within the boundaries of the Ward I will approach Corporate and Shared Services and report the lack of maintenance. I will also consult the Ward Committee and request that funds awarded to the Ward from the BKB competition be made available to construct and maintain amenities along the Spruit. With the assistance of the CRA, and should we win the competition for a seventh year running, I will request that funds be made available on an ongoing basis to for maintenance of Spruit Amenities.

Engaging local communities, fostering community spirit and developing closer community links is perennial challenge made all the more daunting as individual members of the community seal themselves off behind high walls and electric fencing. I believe strong community links are imperative to the well functioning of the Ward as a whole, especially as the service delivery capacity of the City continues to erode.

I plan to foster greater community involvement through a proactive communications effort where I will seek to use my Ward 90 e-letter, blog and interactions with the business community (e.g. on planning applications) as a means to involve a greater number of people in our joint community efforts. My predecessor in the Ward has already made some progress in strengthening local community links when last year the Rosebank Union Church were involved in cleanups along the river, getting grass cut and parks maintained. I will endeavor to continue this good work and seek out other ways in which community links can be built.

I value the CRA’s thoughts and ideas on possible solutions for the some of the problems we face. They are a credit to your commitment and I commit myself to working alongside the CRA in implementing those solutions you deem in the best interest of the Craighall community.

I have reviewed your ideas and added my own comments and thoughts:

·         Environmental Impact Assessment:

o   When the MMC comes to visit the site. I will ask him to undertake an EIA to determine whether the dams and cause ways should be rebuilt. If he refuses to undertake a site visit, I will place our request in writing.

·         Litter traps:

o   As mentioned above, I believe this is an excellent idea and plan to actively support this. I will write to the Johannesburg Roads Agency in conjunction with the City’s Environmental Department and request a litter trap be placed in the Spruit.

o   I will also communicate this request to the Ward Committee and ask that this be put into the IDP and budget request for this year.

o   I will consult with Councillor Hunt (Bryanston) (DA), who has been widely successful in having a number of his IDP requests implemented.

·         Revamp environmental centre

o   As pointed out above, the centre is outside the boundaries of Ward 90. I will however request that Don Forbes and his Ward Committee place the refurbishment of the centre on their Ward IDP and budget requests for this year.

o   I will also work to foster a closer relationship between Don and the CRA, so that CRA might be able to influence decisions associated with the environmental centre.

·         Cub Scouts:

o   I note that the Craighall Scout Hall has recently been taken over by the local resident association and has now been put to use for broader community purposes. I think that this is an excellent use of existing infrastructure and would welcome similar usage of the Scout’s Halls in Hurlingham and Craighall Park.  As far as I am aware the Scouts are currently assessing their usage needs and will report on them in due course. I will write to the Scouts and request this information to be made available to the local resident’s associations. I will also facilitate discussion among various residents’ associations to determine what uses they might propose for the Halls.  I will also suggest that the CRA and the Scouts meet in order to determine how the Scouts might participate in environmental projects along the Spruit.

·         Trees

o   The DA’s parliamentary caucus is very concerned about global warming, carbon emissions and the environment. They have recently taken steps to off-set the carbon footprint caused by flights of parliamentarians to and from parliament by planting trees.

o   In order to offset the carbon emission of the Sandton Constituency MP, the DA has committed to planting approximately 50 indigenous trees in the area across the constituency. I will contact the Constituency MP and request that some trees be made available to the CRA for greening of the suburb or the Spruit.  

o   I too am concerned that the Mayor’s ‘Greening Soweto’ programme is not being run City wide. It makes absolutely no sense that areas such as Alexandra, Zandspruit, Ivory Park, and Diepsloot have not been included. Johannesburg is after all the world’s biggest man-made forest. I will work with the CRA and the DA to ensure that Johannesburg maintains this distinction.