Residents of Mdantsane township and East London have told the Buffalo City Metro leadership to prioritise service delivery and ward development plans during the latest round of BCM mayoral imbizo roadshows held this month at the Jan Smuts and Sisa Dukashe stadiums, respectively.
The Metro leadership, led by Executive Mayor Princess Faku and BCM Council Speaker Humphrey Maxhegwana, embarked on mayoral imbizo roadshows aimed at addressing service delivery challenges in Buffalo City.
Late last year, the mayoral imbizo roadshows were held in Buffalo City Metro’s inland areas for ward residents in Qonce, then proceeded to Tsholomnqa and Ncera villages.
This February, the roadshows moved to midland areas which include Mdantsane and the coastal urban region which include East London’s leafy suburbs.
Faku and her mayoral committee members had to respond to tough questions relating to basic service delivery issues, including potholes, poor maintenance of roads, BCM billing system, lack of community development projects, water and electricity outages, among others.
Over the years, BCM has come under a lot of criticism for its failure to fully complete some of its major bulk infrastructure projects, including the R3 million Mdantsane NU2 swimming pool.
Mdantsane resident Sinoxolo Nkonzo said they were promised houses in ward 17 and nothing has happened, adding that there were areas still without electricity in her ward.
Ward 24 resident Yandiswa Sajini said there was a lack of service delivery in her ward and urged BCM to fast-track service delivery.
Faku gave an overview of various service delivery projects achieved by the Metro, including housing development projects, road upgrades, rezoning, and electrification of informal settlements.
She mentioned that public toilets would be built at ward 23 sports fields and a community hall will be built in the same ward.
“Whilst we host these mayoral imbizo meetings and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) consultations each year, the expectation is that ward residents are given feedback in an attempt to address service delivery challenges,” concluded Faku.
