The ANC-led eThekwini municipality refuses to take responsibility for turning the city into a jungle where lawlessness thrives, and basic service delivery is reserved for a select few.
At a recent executive committee meeting held on Tuesday 14 March 2023, the DA highlighted growing concerns of uncut grass and verges, which are now affecting traffic on the M4 where branches protrude into the road, posing a serious hazard for motorists.
When asked what Mayor Kaunda is doing about this, the ANC deflected and blamed changing weather patterns, as the cause of excessive growth which affects the eight annual cuts which are already behind schedule.
In interrogating the matter, the DA was informed by sources within the municipality, that companies contracted to do verge cutting, have allegedly not been paid since January, thus resulting in the backlog.
This issue has become a city wide conundrum, as most departments such as electricity are running out of critical resources such as cables, exacerbating non-functional streetlights and sewage running down streets as jetting machine contractors cannot be paid.
All of this happens while in the background, the eThekwini Municipality diverts at least R66 million that could be used for service delivery, to pay performance bonuses to some of the City’s workers. A move that was voted for by the ANC and its coalition partner the EFF and supported by smaller parties who now find themselves represented at exco by the NFP on an ANC ticket.
The DA will continue putting pressure on Mayor Kaunda and his administration to shape up and address the mountain of issues that plague our city and its people.