South Beach residents have heeded the call to join forces for the formation of ratepayers’ association in order to hold eThekwini Municipality accountable for ‘poor’ service delivery. The disgruntled residents held a meeting on Saturday, 22 October at Fairhaven in South Beach where members were enlightened about the importance and benefits of ratepayers’ associations.
South Beach resident and community activist, Dudu Subramanian said the formation of the South Beach Ratepayers and Residents’ Association is to have a united voice to address issues that they are experiencing as ratepayers and residents. “We have been very accommodating with the lack of service delivery and accountability from our municipality who have so much of issues within their own governance and administration that they do not have time to consider our challenges as ratepayers and residents. There is constant change in the mayor, the city manager and with all the other heads of department but our streets are not cleaned, our parks are neglected and have now been taken over by vagrants. Victoria Park has no public toilets provided, people urinate in public and we as an association, want to hold these councillors and local heads of departments and ministers accountable. We have reached a point now where we cannot tolerate or accept this non-service delivery from eThekwini Municipality,” said Subramanian.
Chairperson of the Reservoir Hills Ratepayers’ and Residents Association, Ish Praladh said that it is important that communities form ratepayers bodies to help escalate the issues of service delivery. “Through the ratepayers associations, the heads of departments such as water, electricity, roads, parks and other departments can be held accountable. The residents are tired of the excuses from eThekwini Municipality and want to hold the city accountable for their money. The time has come to ask where is our money is going. Ratepayers’ associations are being formed all over eThekwini and any more information required to form a ratepayers association, I will gladly assist,” said Prahladh. North Beach resident, Rookaya Vawda said that at the meeting held in North Beach recently, they had a request from a South Beach resident to join forces with North Beach. “The meeting was then arranged to inform residents about the role and structure of a ratepayers associations. Four members were chosen to join the existing steering committee. The association is a community driven initiative and is non-political. It will serve as a bridge between residents and the city,” said Vawda.
Ward 26 PR Councillor, Sharmaine Sewshanker said that it is about time the ratepayers association is formed to help improve the pace of service delivery. “This is an excellent initiative and it is the only way to hold the city responsible because there is a huge lack of service delivery in the area and the larger parts of eThekwini. I would really like to work closely with the ratepayers association in order to get the ward working again. With ward 26 being a tourist attraction, we think that in order for us to grow the economy, we should have top notch services by the municipality. “We have had holiday makers visiting the Golden Mile to enjoy the beachfront but they have not been able to recently because of sewer spillage and high crime rate. When the body has been constituted, they will work closely with the councillor and the city to ensure that the area remains one of our prized tourism attractions,” said Sewshaker. For more information on forming a ratepayers association in your community, contact Ish Prahladh on: 083-480-2955
