By Kaya 959 Reporter
Newly appointed Johannesburg Executive Mayor Mpho Moerane is hoping to fast-track service delivery in Alexandra.
Moerane and city leadership visited the area under the banner of the Accelerated Service Delivery Programme, following complaints about power cuts due to a vandalised mini-substation
There were also complaints about illegal dumping, faulty streetlights and blocked stormwater drains.
Moerane and the delegation of MMCs kicked off their oversight visit addressing residents asking for feedback from the Region E regional director on promises made during a visit by the now-deceased mayor, Jolidee Matongo.
Residents said only half of the services promised were delivered. A timeline of next Thursday was given to officials to ensure that all that was promised to residents at the previous oversight visit was fulfilled.
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Location of recyclers
Moerane said one of the undertakings was the relocation of recyclers who had taken over a whole street in a neighbourhood with bonded houses in Lombardy and turned it into what resembles a dumpsite – with the street fully covered in flattened plastic bottles.
“The relevant officials have until Thursday to relocate the recyclers to a location already identified for the move and belong to the municipality.
“The timeline emphasis on Thursday is based on a decision that from Friday, the Joburg Metro Police Department is expected to enforce bylaws in the affected area in Lombardy to ensure that it is not taken over by recyclers again,” he said.
Moerane said it cannot be that property owners, who possibly have worked all their lives to pay off their bonds, are not protected from actions of others who devalue their hard-earned properties as has been the case in Lombardy.
“As a City, we need to protect them by enforcing bylaws in this case while also ensuring that we assist the recyclers to operate within the law and do not violate others’ rights,” he said.
The Joburg Roads Agency was also in the township to unblock stormwater drains.
The Agency indicated that there was a backlog in unblocking stormwater drains that caused floods during the rainy season in the area due to a shortage of the required specialised equipment for the function.



