Pretoria - Whether the ANC, DA or EFF wins Tshwane after Wednesday's polls, residents will demand that the next city government be clean, provide jobs and tighten law enforcement.
Further, it must whip the taxi industry into shape and widen Solomon Mahlangu Drive, sort out Melgisedek and root out substance abuse.
Crime was the biggest concern for residents of Centurion, who urged the next city administration to tackle the problem as soon as it was in office. House and business robberies, smash and grabs, and car theft at shopping malls were the crimes bothering the community.
"Muggings in broad daylight speak of the lack of visible policing and punitive measures," said Lethu Stuurman.
Lorna van Zyl concurred: "You can't walk to the mall to grab lunch without being held up and your purse stolen."
Bruce Mfeketho said he was mugged while walking from the Gautrain Station, while Sandra and Maryke said muggings limited movements to short distances from their home.
Tlhalefang Lefifi, an entrepreneur from Mabopane Block D, said corruption held the economy of the city back. Lefifi said that without corruption the city would be a much better place to live in. "Also, there are lots of unemployed people of all ages and that needs to change," he added.
Kgolagano Motshegoa of Mabopane Lebanon also singled out jobs as a priority and said thousands of unemployed graduates were idle at their homes.
"Housing and sanitation should be made better. The drainage systems are not up to standard and many do not have flushing toilets."
Anmarie van der Walt of Rietondale said cable theft and water shortages were major problems.
Van der Walt said they expected the next city council to deal with the rotting, dilapidated and crime-ridden Melgisedek complex in Riviera, which had been on the municipal agenda for many years, but was never attended to.
"Melgisedek has negatively affected the value of neighbouring properties. There are also huge health and safety hazards for us," she said.
Robern McCarthy, also of Rietondale, said the next party that governed the city should root out drugs and prostitution. He also complained about the tennis court at Rietondale Park, which was a trading place for drug dealers.
Eric Hlongwane of Mamelodi said he expected the next municipal leadership to do away with tenderpreneurship, cadre deployment and corruption.
Sipho Masemola said residents of his Mamelodi neighbourhood lived in squalor and deserved better. Hostels should be replaced with family units, he said.
Lindiwe Matshika of Soshanguve said she hoped her vote would bring jobs, while all Tsakane Mokone wanted was for the winning party to care for the needs of the people.
Louis Benade of Six Fountains near Silver Lakes praised the outgoing administration for widening roads in the east. "The only remaining problem is Lynnwood Road, heading towards Solomon Mahlangu Drive, where the double lanes become one. There is a constant bottleneck," Benade said.
"Solomon Mahlangu towards Mamelodi should also be widened. There are simply too many developments to cope with traffic flow."
William Dube, who lives in Menlo Park, was concerned about taxis taking shortcuts through suburbs when traffic was too hectic on Lynnwood or Justice Mahomed roads.
Anna Strydom of Brooklyn complained about house and armed robberies. "These serious crimes can be combated by technology such as monitoring and control systems, which are in line with the capital city's policies."
Strydom said controlled access with booms and cameras could never be regarded as unconstitutional, referring to the feud between Brooklyn residents and the city, which had turned down the area's application for a gated community.
"My wish is that the municipality stops fighting residents who want to implement such pro-active measures at their own costs and allow restrictive access to all neighbourhoods. Public monies should not be wasted on senseless litigation but rather used to address safety as well as the housing needs of the poor."
Means of combating crime were foremost on the mind of Andre Olivier, a service provider at Wapadrand Security Estate.
Easy access to municipal street cameras by the SAPS would help all involved to solve smash and grabs and road rage, Olivier said.
He called for the application of the "broken window" concept - start with the small things and all else will follow - to all traffic transgressions.
While happy with the free wi-fi, he said this service should be limited to schools. "It becomes a magnet for drug dealers and pornographic downloaders," he said. Olivier also felt the city should do more for the homeless.
Simon Mathebula of Pretoria Central said: "It's not a nice feeling when you're walking around and you come across a young man or woman staggering around with a blank look in their eyes because they had been smoking nyaope the whole day.
"Those who are voted into power need to focus on helping the youth to overcome drug problems, but also provide jobs to keep them busy and contribute to society," said Mathebula.
Mark Sibiya, also from the city centre, said the wi-fi, the A Re Yeng rapid transit bus service and metro police officers on the streets were pointless when corruption was rife. "You see it at a basic level. Police work with drug dealers who sell to the youth. It's damaging our city and country," said Sibiya.
Residents of Hercules, Daspoort and Booysens in Pretoria West summed up their needs in a petition to the city. They wanted housing they had been waiting for since 2011.
Election Bureau/Pretoria News