Johannesburg - Randburg, and with it many relativity affluent suburbs, is still dogged by problems of service delivery, crime and corruption. It’s these issues that are on residents’ minds this election year.
Linda Blackbeard, chief executive of the Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is a resident of Linden has a list of some of the main problem she thinks is holding the area back.
These include illegal dumping in the parks, vagrants living in electricity sub-stations and broken traffic lights at main intersections.
She adds: “Potholes take forever to be fixed and we also still experience a billing system that’s in shambles.”
Also, businesses need a safer environment in which to operate. Safety concerns drive customers away.
“We have to lock our gates and engage our clients at the gate before we open for them. They think we are being rude but we have to deploy such measures for our own safety.”
Things have not been great for informal trader Grace Ramothebeli, 51 either. She sells fruits and snacks at the market adjacent to the Randburg Taxi Rank. In the 20 years she’s worked here she has seen a decline.”I thank the municipality for building us formal structures to sell our goods, but business has not been good as people just pass our market to buy at the malls,” she says.
For other locals like Robert Greyling, 51, who has lived in Blairgowrie for the past 10 years, it’s Pikitup that is one of the biggest problem service provider in the area.
“They drop rubbish on the road, when you ask them to pick it up they refuse,” Greyling says.
He’s also worried about crime and about the lack of cooperation among residents in being proactive. “Those people who says everything is fine here are living in a fantasy world, if it was all fine, they would not have put up expensive CCTV cameras.”
Greyling, who has been a victim of crime twice, says it has cost him a fortune to install 24 hours CCTV cameras at his home. He’s always on the lookout for vagrants who live in the electricity substation in the area.
He adds vandalism of the substation is a big reason they’ve had continued electricity problems in the area.
Greyling says he will vote in the upcoming elections and believes that not voting is essentially translated into a vote for the ANC.
“I believe our system is corrupt, the ANC policy is perfect but the leadership is corrupt.”
He adds the ANC has “taken Mandela’s legacy and spat on it”.
One prominent Randburg resident is Pastor Ray McCauley who has had his Rhema church in Randburg for 36 years. He cites service delivery of water and electricity as major problem in the area.
He also says crime in the area “goes hand in hand with corruption” and notes that there are not enough schools in the area to accommodate everyone.
McCauley does applaud development and progress over the years though. His congregation has “seen more inclusivity in the community”.
Saturday Star