Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is going full steam ahead with plans to build a parking lot for its buses in Bronkhorstspruit, despite residents’ strong disapproval.
“As the city we are duty bound to render a service and we are committed to doing that.
“We are going on with the project as planned. The contractor is on site and progress is standing at about 70 percent,” said Lindela Mashigo, spokesman for the City of Tshwane.
On Monday, the Pretoria News reported on how the residents of Cultura Park in Bronkhorstspruit vowed to do whatever it took to stop the construction of what they said was a bus depot which they did not want in their area.
In response, the city called a meeting to discuss the matter with the residents, which was meant to take place on Tuesday but the residents did not attend.
Simon Ravhuhali, chairman of the Cultura Park Residents’ Association (Cupra), who also spearheaded the campaign to stop the construction of the parking lot, said they did not attend the meeting because they were not invited.
“When they did not show up we were startled to get a message that they were not going to make it. We respect that. It is within their rights,” Mashigo said.
“We remain open at any given stage as we continue with the project, if they want to chat to us, we will definitely avail ourselves.”
Ravhuhali denied he, or anyone in the association called or left a message saying they would not attend the meeting.
Members of the association were angered by the municipality, stating that they were never informed about the plans to build what they refer to as a bus depot.
This is a claim they stand by and reject any claims to the contrary.
“In terms of community engagement about the construction in Cultura Park, the residents are being consulted and this is an on-going process. The group of people who are against this have been interrupting the city’s meetings every time we organise public meetings,” Mashigo said.
He said there had been three meetings, excluding the most recent one, and two of those meetings were disrupted by Cupra.
The residents also claimed that the construction of the parking lot would devalue their homes, as it was being built in a residential area, right opposite people’s homes.
“The idea of property losing value is not disputed. The area was fast becoming a hiding place for criminals who had ransacked the structure… With the intervention of the city the place is much better,” Mashigo insisted.
Pretoria News