Ward 89 Newsletter
October 2008
Dear Resident
JMPD: 11shacks were demolished, vagrants were removed from Rugby Road 4 times, as well as from Kina Road, however, these vagrants have returned and JMPD have again been asked to remove them. I have sent a communication to the Migrant Help Desk to enquire how they assist homeless persons when JMPD remove them to prevent them from returning again and again.
Pikitup have also cleaned up Rugby Road on as many occasions and I have requested that a regular street sweeper be placed in that road to avoid a build up of rubbish.
CITY Parks have confirmed that after numerous requests that they will cut down the dead fronds on the Palm Trees in J G Strydom Drive. We look forward to that.
The broken fence in Haak & Steek at the run off dam has been reported several times and the Stakeholder Liaison person has informed me that this is an insurance claim which is taking time to process.
A survey was sent out to the 7 Res Assoc regarding the service that the Call Centre is rendering. The DA are concerned that it is becoming dysfunctional and such a survey from residents is needed to supply proof of disgruntled residents when trying to report problems; this will be given to the Corporate Services and Admin Dept.
JRA: As we have all seen, the roads in our city are being dug up for Neotel, Telkom and Vodacom cable installation. This, we feel, should have been handled better and will be conveyed at the monthly Council meeting on Thurs 31 Oct.
The new Rates Policy has brought with it many, many problems; at a briefing session at the Metro Centre last week, councillors requested a workshop on how to assist residents with their queries as the Revenue dept is not dealing with this efficiently enough.
Please continue to report problems to the Call Centre/Peoples’ Centre, the city relies on being made aware of deficiencies. Tel no. 011 375 5555/011 761-o144/5.
The IEC will be providing a Registration Weekend on 8 and 9 November 2008 for those residents who have changed their physical address subsequent to 1 March 2006. Residents are urged to go the their nearest Polling stations on this weekend to change their new address. The 5 voting stations in Ward 89 are: Panoarma Primary School, Albert St, Weltevredenpark Primary School, Boskop Primary School, Hillfox Power Centre and N G Kerk in Smit Street. Should residents wish to confirm if they are on the voters roll, they can sms the IEC with their I D number to 32810 and a reply will be received within a minute with the confirmation or otherwise.
All residents must be on the voters roll in order to vote in the General and Provincial Elections in 2009. Young adults who have turned 18 years of age are since 1 March 2006 are encouraged to register.
Regards
Dee
Ward 89 Newsletter
15 August 2008
Dear Resident
METRO POLICE / SAPS
JMPD
Land Invasions - 24 vagrants were evicted, 28 places destroyed, 4 shelters demolished and 10 illegal posters removed during July 2008.
CITY PARKS
At a meeting with City Parks this month I am happy to report that of one of my submissions on the IDP regarding the development of parks, City Parks will be developing the Kroton Street Park in Constantia Kloof North. Trees, a wetland area, additional trees, playground equipment and park furniture will transform this open space for the children and adults to enjoy. Work will commence in about 3 months time.
At a further site meeting with City Parks, the chairman of Panorama Res Assoc and myself, City Parks undertook to clean up the open space corridor between Kraalbessie, Albert and Rooisering Streets. The RA was asked to submit a motivation to fence this area off to ensure the safety of this charming corridor. The RA has assured City Parks that gates will be unlocked from 6am to 6pm should City Parks install fencing and gates. I submitted a letter of support to Panorama RA to attach to their motivation to City Parks.
City Parks has a target to plant 200,000 trees before the end of 2008. The 200,000 tree planting campaign forms part of the 2010 Greening the City Legacy Project that was launched on 1 September 2006. Corporate companies are being offered several options to come on board.
Illegal Taxi Parking still remains problematic and last week Supt Dean McCabe was informed as well as John Baisley, chairperson of the CPF to monitor and control the situation around Palm Court with hawkers as well.
Vagrants at Rugby Road beside the pedestrian bridge has also been a concern and I have asked John Baisley as well as Service Delivery to find an intervention to resolve this. The property along the N1 appears to be private property and City Parks were asked to cut the grass. Since the Zenophobia attacks the homeless are all over. The Fairland koppie has also been abused by the homeless and City Parks have been made aware of this. To report land invasion please tel Mr Meintjies/Adendorf on 011 490-1509.
Rates Policy - Up to 100% rebate for pensioners
Pensioners are urged to be aware of rebates on the Rates Policy. The City's New Rates Policy was implemented on 1 July 2008 and pensioners are encouraged to apply for their rebates before 1 September 2008 being the deadline date.
For further information and clarity Council will facilitate Open days in Region C at the Roodepoort City Hall, Cor Berlandina & Dieperink Streets, Roodepoort.
Don't be late to submit your application as this will policy will only be reviewed again in 4 years time.
Sectional Title Homeowners are urged to inform The Rates Policy Implementation of their postal addresses as, when capturing was conducted, many mistakes were made from handwritten forms and of 120,000, only 12,000 accounts are correct.
These have not yet been posted and residents are urged to put aside this amount of money until such time that accounts reach them. Please contact the Rates Policy Implementation @ P O Box 1450, Johannesburg, 2000 or tel 011 375 5555 [OPTION 7]; fax: 011 381 9642 or e-mail ratespolicy @joburg.org.za.
It remains the responsibility of the homeowner to inform the City of their postal address. Should this be ignored the homeowner could be owing the Council thousands of Rands if and when a sale takes place in the future; in other words, the account will not disappear but there will be a monthly fee plus interest and avoiding this could become very problematic.
Please continue to report any deficiencies to the Call Centre/Peoples’ Centre on 011 375 5555/011 761-0144/5
Sincerely
Dee
Councillor Dee White
[Ward 89]
Ward 89 Newsletter
March/April 2008
Dear Resident
Due to the Easter Recess during March and April, herewith my Report for both months.
MPRA
Objections to the Valuation Roll can be lodged until 27 May 2008.
Objection Forms are available on the 1st floor, Civic Centre, 100 C de Wet Street, Florida. Unhappy residents are urged to submit these objections sooner rather than later. The City's market value was determined on 01 July 2007 and the total value including residential and business properties stand at R700 billion. The formula of your market value is calculated as
follows: the first R150,000 is exempt, therefore once you know the value, deduct this amount, then multiply this by 0.004 [c in Rand], divided by 12 to get your monthly rate payable. Should you receive an account in excess of what you feel is a more realistic amount, you are advised to pay the amount the Council bills you for and certainly do not, not pay anything.
Once the objection has been considered, a credit if applicable will be passed on to you. In the event that your objection was unsuccessful, the owner may appeal within 30 days after written notice of MV decision was sent. There is no cost for the objectiofn and appeal process. The owner may call for written reasons, at a fee, within 30 days written notice of MV's decision was sent. Regarding recourse after appeals; normal legal action may be taken at the objector's costs.
The draft Spatial Dev Framework for 2008/9 and Urban Management Key Focus Areas will be presented on 14 April from 12.30pm and again at 5.30. Draft IDP documents will be available as well from 12 noon till 8pm.
A Stakeholder Summit for Clrs and Ward Committee members will take place on Sat 19 April at Gallagher Estate from 10am.
JRA
Following a ward tour on 3 April, the deterioration of our suburb's roads was noted and this has been submitted to the relevant depot. My press release regarding this refers. I have included the re-surfacing of roads in Ward 89 in my IDP submissions for the next financial year 2008/9.
Ward 89's Road Safety Public Meeting was held on Monday 10 March at Arbor Creche, Cornelius Street, Fairland. Road Calming will be implemented between the crèche and Laerskool Fairland.
CITY PARKS
The pathways in The Rooitou Street Park have been completed as well as the surfacing under the playground equipment. Mrs Holding, a resident, is donating agrapanthas for the park and the Project Manager has been asked to collect these for planting. I am very grateful to Mrs Holding for her kind donation. By and large the arterial roads have all been cut on a fairly regular basis thanks to my constant logging for this. There are still some green belt areas that need cutting and hopefully this will soon be done. JHB Water - The construction site cor Jim Fouche/Delfhout Sts has not yet been removed as some further work is being carried out in the Region. It is hoped that this will soon be completed.
Palm Court
The Management Agents have informed me that the back electronic gate is now working and this should improve the comings and goings of trespassers. They have also approached the owner of the BP Station with a view to better manage the area behind the garage
JMPD
Evicted 30 vagrants from the Weltevredenpark koppie and destroyed 21 shelters/shacks and evicted 13 vagrants from Rugby Road next to N - 1 and demolished 13 shelters. The waste removed from both areas amounted to more than half a ton.
PIKITUP
Please inform this UAC if pick-ups are unduly late and if a mess is left after emptying bins as well as the concrete bins on the pavement or the recipticals on poles; the clearing of these are outsourced and Pikitup needs to know if regular clearing is not done.
Continue to report any problems/complaints to 011 375 5555
There is another batch of holidays in the last week of April. Please drive safely should you be going away. Take care.
Regards
Dee
Councillor Dee White
[Ward 89]
Ward 101 Newsletter June 2007
Dear Residents,
It has been a while since the last newsletter. During this time I have been very busy, and unfortunately have had to spend a great deal of time nagging the powers that be in order to get the service delivery that we are entitled to,
Grass-cutting and the litter that suddenly becomes visible continues to be a problem. Through continuous prodding we have managed quite well in this department, especially as Gautrans and JRA have given instructions to only cut three meters on either side of their roads. I am taking them to task on this, as this goes against all combined crime-fighting efforts. This matter was also part of a motion that I tabled in Council a while ago. In this motion I called for a combined approach to fighting crime by having a monthly meeting between the SAPS, JMPD, City Parks, JRA, City Power and all Municipal and Provincial stakeholders. Needless to say, the ANC did not support the motion. Sometimes petty party politics gets in the way of citizen-focused initiatives!
RIVERS
We have met with City Parks and Environmental Affairs regarding the Little Jukskei River and they are keen to help us establish a safe environment along this river with a view to turn it into a hiking trail. It will be linked with the river system from the Brightwater Common to the Pampoenspruit and down the Little Jukskei to Witkoppen Road. We eventually want to turn the section between Jacaranda Road and Mangaan into a Nature Reserve. To achieve this though, we will need support from both residents and businesses. Hopefully this will encourage Council to lend their support as well.
DEVELOPMENTS
Bellairs Mall: This development has been the biggest thorn in the side of residents. The problems started when building commenced without approved plans. This was followed by constant disruption of traffic on Bellairs Drive and illegal signboarding. The developers are now attempting to override neighbours’ objections to the building of an extra floor on top of this complex. The attitude of Concor and the developers towards residents’ concerns and building regulations has left a lot to be desired.
Bellairs Drive, which now has two malls, almost had three! However, due to residents’ objections and an owner who listened to these objections, the third development was shelved. The influx of shopping centres is mainly due to i) retail space fetching the best return per square-meter and ii) a loophole in our laws which allows developers to apply first through the Province rather then through the City Council for re-zoning for retail outlets. I raised this issue at a recent IDP meeting and was informed that this is the reason for an ongoing lawsuit between the City and the Province. All Spatial Development Plans are bound to come to nought if this situation is allowed to persist and I feel we have to pursue this matter vigorously.
ROADS
Bellairs Drive and Northriding Roads: After months of promises regarding the upgrading of these roads, we were finally informed in March that work will begin within the next three months. This includes the tarring of Derby and repairs to Blandford, Ascot and Hyperion. We are coming to the end of June and nothing has happened yet. I hope that this is not a case of empty promises from the JRA. It’s most concerning that I have been unable to get confirmation of this work in writing. To make matters worse, City Power has once again erected powerline poles in the middle of the road, this time at the new Bellairs Mall.
C.R.Swart Drive: A three-way stop street has been introduced at Elnita, and this should help the morning congestion. However I am still fllowing up with the JRA to find out if they plan to start the long awaited straightening out project on this road.
Kelly and President Fouche: This intersection seems to be flowing much better since the upgrade and installation of robots. The intersection at President Fouche and Windsor Way also seems to be working well.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The lack of public transport in our area is obvious and not looked at as a priority by the Mayor. Even though we are going to get a bus service that will link Alexandra with Sandton and Randburg, the additional link to Roodepoort has been shelved for the time being. I feel that this is rather short-sighted as the link from Roodepoort to Cresta and Randburg is more important, as there is no taxi service on this line either.
EDUCATION
Information coming from the Provincial Legislature is that within the next four to five years we should see a Primary and a Secondary school being built in Northriding.
WATER
We have had our fair share of broken water mains and overflowing sewers, but overall I think that JHB Water has made a good effort in getting these sorted out in as short a time as possible. A portion of Boskruin was left without water for five days due to an problems caused by a sub-contractor, who then made things worse by not making JHB Water aware of the problems, thus ensuring that it took three days to get a water tank into the area.
Recently Meadowhurst was left without water for three days and the residents had to use tanks on the corner of Hornbill and Jacaranda to fill containers. The experience illustrated how we take things for granted while many others do not even have these basic comforts. The other problem this exposed is that where the old Sandton and Randburg areas meet, no bridging of supplies has been done. I am now busy motivating that JHB Water look into this in every area where old municipal boundaries run through suburbs. The installation of just 30- 40 meters of piping can avoid this type of outage in the future.
In the same area we have a 600mm sewer pipe crossing the Little Jukskei River. This pipe is rusted through in places and badly damaged by logs that have washed down the river during floods. I have called for a replacement of this pipe as the danger of the next log breaking it is very real and that would cause an ecological disaster in our area.
As we know, our sewer-system is antiquated and needs an overhaul. However, what most people do not know is that our Northern Sewerage Works is constantly working at 10% over even its emergency capabilities. It’s no wonder that we have excessive amounts of phosphorants washing into the Jukskei River and ending up in Haartebeespoort Dam. I mentioned this in council last month and even though the MMC for infrastructure was not there at the time she has taken note of the problem. This is more then I can say for some of her colleagues, one of whom replied along the lines of: “We are not the only polluters of the rivers”. He reminded me of the child at school, who when caught by the teacher doing something wrong tells on others to lighten his own load.
PIKITUP
Even though there is an improvement in their Domestic collection service, they still have a long way to go when it comes to street-cleaning and regular emptying of the concrete bins on our roads. However I have found that the people who are responsible for managing the local depot have ensured fairly prompt action when called upon to sort out areas such as the President Fouche and Third Road intersection in Northwold.
Illegal dumping has become a scourge in the area, especially with some irresponsible rubble-removers. I am, however, proud to say that with the help of some concerned citizens we have managed to fine two such culprits R1000 and R2000 respectively. A third truck was confiscated and, as all persons on the truck were illegal aliens, they were all arrested.
CITY POWER
The power outages in areas such as Northriding are a huge problem. Due to the rampant development in the area, consumption is at 115% in this suburb. The upgrade of the sub-station has not gone ahead as Eskom cannot supply more power to the grid. Although we were promised one of the imported Diesel-Generators to help with the shortfall, there seems to be a problem with the integration of these generators into the grid.
I have also found it difficult dealing with the acting MD of City Power. Some of his ideas have made me wonder. For instance, he suggested switching off all street lights during power-shedding. In his words:” The people can at least lock themselves in their houses and have lights.” That should really fix the problem!
The most recent development in this saga of non-delivery is the reply I got from Eskom at a recent meeting with councillors after twice asking when the Northriding, Honeydew and Bryanston grids would be upgraded – only planned for 2009! If this is the case, then Eskom will single-handedly manage to put a stop to all further development in these areas until this issue is resolved.
CITY PARKS
In May last year I was informed that we were the lucky recipients of a new park between Seil Place and Amsterdam Drive. I was shown drawings of wheelchair friendly layouts and paths. We event discussed a big launch at the library. I recently took City Parks of a tour of the site of their intended new park a week ago. Much to their embarrassment we ended up looking at an overgrown, locked up, piece of wasteland.
As far as Golden Harvest Park is concerned, City Parks saw fit to remove all access control but neglected to inform anybody, including the SAPS. The Honeydew SAPS was thus rather surprised when I asked them to patrol this area regularly. JHB Propcom is putting up for tender the two stands where the neglected ex-mayor’s house stands in order to develop them. Given their ineptness when it comes to the upkeep of the other the park, I am only too happy for them to go ahead. The lighting in the park is also of great concern and we are trying to get Highmast lights installed to improve the situation.
THE NATIONAL DISPLAY GARDENS
The construction of this is going to go ahead. It is a capital project of about R100 million and should enhance the Northgate node. It will also serve to close the gap opposite the Dome which currently is a thoroughfare for undesirables in this area.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
A new commander was appointed at Honeydew Police Station about six months ago, Assistant Commissioner Oscar Reddy. He has brought with him a new team of senior staff and a willingness to win the fight against crime. They are busy at the moment with revamping the sectors and at my suggestion future sector meetings will also include ward issues. We have done this in sector six of Douglasdale and it has resulted in this meeting being attended by between 25 and 45 people every month. The continuous pressure exerted by the public at these meetings resulted in the allocation of a provincial unit to raid the vagrants along the river at Jacaranda Road. In one morning the raid netted 450 illegal aliens and criminals who were on the wanted list. During the raid the police unit was aided by a local security company, RSS, who were praised for their efforts by the commanding officer.
The nomadic behaviour of criminals was highlighted this week as the reports from Honeydew showed a decrease in certain crimes due to extra effort being asserted in the area. These same crimes however increased over the same period in the areas policed by Douglasdale directly adjacent to the Honeydew precinct.
D.A. PARTY POLITICS AND THE FUTURE
As has been extensively covered in the media, the Democratic Alliance has a new Party Leader, Helen Zille; and a new Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Sandra Botha.
These appointments have made an immediate impact and I have been approached by numerous acquaintances, many of whom have supported the ruling party, who have now indicated their support for the DA in the future.
The tireless efforts of Ms. Zille have won the hearts of many new supporters and we can only try to emulate her efforts on the local front. I feel that with carrot and stick - and a lot of Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends And Influence People” - we have managed to get more done than I ever expected. Even though we are still the recipients of a great deal of sarcasm and anti-DA hype in Council, the situation is very different in the sub-committees. Here, the ANC and the DA work much better together in order to get things done. After all, the lack of service delivery is being felt in all areas.
Thus with a growing support base and a willingness by all to hold people accountable, I am looking forward to an interesting future; even if it will still take a while to get over the present hurdles, such as the lacking infrastructure in our area.
Cllr. Ralf Bittkau
Ward 101
Schedule of Rates and Tariffs for 2007
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