WARD 84 REPORT OCTOBER 2015
A round-up of municipal issues concerning Somerset West, by Councillor Stuart Pringle.
SAFETY ON THE N2
CITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
BUDGET CONSULTATION WITH SUB COUNCILS
REPORT ON THE E-COLI COUNTS OF THE HELDERBERG RIVERS
VEGETABLE GARDEN ON CORNER NEW AND DRAMA STREETS
OLD BRIDGE, BELLONA STREET AND STREET PEOPLE
SAFETY ON THE N2
Together with my colleague, Benedicta Van Minnen, I have been liasing with the Community Police Forum Chairperson, Billy Smith and the Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith to resolve the issues which have prevented HCW from patrolling on the N2. The City of Cape Town has always expressed its gratitude to HCW for their assistance and we are looking forward to a meeting shortly between the parties where the issue can be resolved.
At this month’s Community Police Forum meeting it was reported that additional patrols have been implemented by both the SAPS and Metro Police to cover the times during which HCW had been patrolling. We will continue to urge all roleplayers to allocate as many resources to tackling this scourge as possible.
Residents are still urged to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to 0214807700.
CENTRAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
The Central Improvement District is going from strength to strength in providing top up services to those provided by the City, and working with the City, particularly in terms of safety and security and clearing the people illegally occupying the pipes under the old bridge in Somerset West main road.
There is a growing synergy between the various role players and this is leading to more effective interventions as the community stands together in an effort to clean up our town.
I am incredibly proud to have proposed the establishment of the Central Improvement District in Council last year, in spite of the strident opposition to its establishment.
BUDGET CONSULTATION WITH SUB COUNCILS
The process of public consultation around the 2016 / 2017 budget has commenced and the comments from the councillors will be assessed going forward. There is need for more funding for securing of City assets, especially infrastructure such as bridges and pipes, as well as the need for more funding for more road repairs and the employment of more safety and security staff and staff to assist with social development projects.
EPORT ON THE E-COLI COUNTS OF THE HELDERBERG RIVERS
The report to the September sub council followed an extensive investigation by the City into the e-coli levels in the Lourens, Soet and Sir Lowry’s Pass Rivers. Although the heavy early winter rains in 2014 did contribute to a considerable wash off of catchment based contamination there was a notable improvement in the water quality in the Sir Lowry’s Pass River, which is indicative of the improved sewerage system where full flush toilets were implemented in place of the bucket system which was in use a few months ago.
In terms of the report, the general quality of the water in the Helderberg rivers is good except for instances where there are notable spikes as a result of specific incidents such as sewage overflows. Ongoing replacement of the aged (in some cases over 50 years old) infrastructure and education programs to get people to stop dumping such foreign objects as couches and animal carcasses into the sewage system, are being undertaken to minimise these spikes.
The Soet River is plagued by Chronic problems and for that reason a specific abatement strategy has been developed which sees several departments working together to address, inter alia, the identification of polluters, dealing with the smells emanating from the river, general repair of the sewer system and management of water quality sampling.
VEGETABLE GARDEN ON CORNER NEW AND DRAMA STREETS
This initiative by the community, for the community, is coming on well and the area is being fenced off and prepared for the establishment of the garden. This is another example of how the City and the local residents are able to make use of parks and public open spaces so that they become assets rather than eye sores. My thanks to the Neighbourhood Watch for taking the lead in this initiative.
OLD BRIDGE, BELLONA STREET AND STREET PEOPLE
The issue of how to prevent illegal occupation of infrastructure by street people is a world-wide problem and while the City tries to come up with ways to prevent people occupying the old bridge under main road without breaking the bank and overburdening the ratepayers, the City’s law enforcement and reintegration units, together with SAPS and the City Improvement District are engaged in regular operations to keep the pipes clear. Businesses and residents are more and more aware of the fact that it is their generosity which keeps people on the streets and are adopting the give responsibly philosophy, for which I am grateful.
This weekend there will be a Street People Summit organised by the City and representatives of the Local Network of Care, Community Police Forum, Night Shelter and Helderberg Street People’s Centre, among others, will be attending. There is good cooperation between some of the roleplayers, particularly the night shelter, the Helderberg Street People’s Centre and the Neighbourhood Watch group who are organising the vegetable garden on the corner of Drama and New Streets. Together with the Local Network of Care, I have also met with Helderberg Omgee, who are more focussed on the issue of substance abuse, and a new organisation who would like to establish a psychiatric treatment facility, with a focus on assisting street people.
Together with organisations such as the Halli Trust and Masikhule, Somerset West can justifiably claim to be a very caring community and I would urge residents to support these organisations instead of giving directly to people living on the streets. The Local Network of Care is the over-arching body with whom the City works in order to encourage maximum cooperation between organisations.
Finally, the City has completed and complied with all the legal niceties designed to protect the owner of the problem building in Bellona Street, a permit for the demolition has been issued, the money is budgeted for the demolition and the tender process is underway for the appointment of contractors. I can well imagine a number of residents who would gladly offer to do the demolition free of charge (including at least one councillor) but the process has to be free and transparent. Nevertheless, the City informs me they are optimistic that the matter is finally coming to a head and the building ought to be demolished by the end of the year.
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WARD 84 REPORT
OCTOBER 2015