Lerato Park Phase 6 residents were left between a rock and a hard place after the executive mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality, Kagisho Sonyoni, warned them of the risk of halting the local sanitation project that will provide them with flushing toilets.
LERATO Park Phase 6 residents were left between a rock and a hard place after the executive mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality, Kagisho Sonyoni, warned them of the risk of halting the local sanitation project that will provide them with flushing toilets.
This was after the disgruntled residents had resorted to protest action earlier in the week after accusing the contractor of not employing local people on the project.
The residents expressed their unhappiness by barricading the roads with huge rocks and burning tyres on Wednesday, stopping any vehicles from entering the area.
Sonyoni addressed the Phase 6 residents yesterday morning, explaining that a contractor was appointed to lay the pipes for the sewerage system in the area.
He said that the contractor makes the final decision on who to appoint to work on the project.
“As a municipality, we have to provide basic services to our people. The provision of sanitation is one of the services we are mandated to provide. The municipality, however, does not install the sewerage pipes and appoints a service provider to carry out those duties. That is what happened in this case,” said Sonyoni.
“Phase 6 is the first informal settlement that will be provided with flushing toilets. Should you continue with the protest action, then this contractor might decide to pull out of the contract completely and the project will have to end. You will have to choose whether you want the toilets or you want to continue to stop the work on the installation of the sewerage pipes. We are not certain when another contractor might be assigned for the installation. If there is a delay in the project, you will have to make use of the bucket system.”
After much deliberation with the residents, Sonyoni indicated that he would request the contractor to possibly increase the workforce on the project.
“We cannot instruct the contractor to appoint people, but we will ask the company whether it is possible to employ some people who are staying in this area on the project. It is not certain that they will agree, but we will ask either way. What we need to ensure is that the project continues and is completed in order for people to have proper sanitation,” he said.
Sonyoni also assured residents that only people residing in the area would be appointed on an upcoming paving project in the area.
“There is also a paving project that needs to be completed in this area. That project is the municipality’s project. I can now commit by stating that people who will be employed on that project will be local people.
“In two weeks time, I will return and give feedback on the response from the contractor regarding the appointment of some residents from this area. We will also have a transparent hiring process for the paving project.
“We will host a community meeting where we will put the identity documents of the residents in a box and draw the names of those who will be employed on the paving project. We will do that in the presence of the entire community and the councillor. People do not have to run around and put their names on a list, we will not be working with any list of names. Everyone who wants a job must come with their identity document, which will be placed in a box and we will draw the candidates who will be appointed from that box.”
Community members agreed to this and said they would hold the mayor accountable.
“We are in desperate need of jobs. It is painful to see people from other parts of the city, like Jackson, Stock and Stock and Roodepan being appointed on the projects in this area while we are also in search of work,” the residents said.
“The municipality must hold the appointed contractors accountable by ensuring they appoint a percentage of local people who are staying in the areas where projects are being rolled out. We are also capable of doing the work that those people from the other areas have been doing. We cannot have a situation where the same people are provided with work. We all need to get an opportunity to provide for our families.”
They said the drawing of identity documents from a box is a good way of ensuring that there is no corruption or favouritism during the hiring process. “We will all be present and an independent person must draw the names of the persons who will be appointed.
“The other issue that is frustrating people is that most of the time one hears that the councillors are the ones who are in charge of who gets to be appointed on these projects. Some councillors do not even know the community they are supposed to serve. Others come with their own agenda when they are elected as councillors and do not identify or fight for the challenges of the community. The mayor must also call such councillors to order, otherwise people will continuously suffer.”
