City accused of showing petitions committee the ‘middle finger’
ALEXANDRA - Chairperson of the Petitions Standing Committee in the Gauteng Legislature, Refilwe Mogale accuses the City of Johannesburg of giving them a middle finger by not attending her session in Alex.
The chairperson of the Gauteng Legislature’s Petitions Standing Committee, Refilwe Mogale has accused the City of Johannesburg of giving her committee ‘the middle finger’ by not honouring a request to appear before it to answer to petitions filed by residents.
She was expressing her regrets at the failure of the City to send a representative to answer petitions on various service delivery matters during the special sitting of the legislature at the East Bank Hall in Alexandra on 31 March and 1 April.
“I urge the residents not to go to the streets [to protest] and vent their anger at the treatment [they got] from the City, which is tantamount to giving us and the residents a middle finger. They seem not to want to come and account to us and the residents of Alexandra for their failure to provide adequate service delivery.
Read: Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba opens Alex Mall.
“If it means dragging the mayor to this Legislature to come and account, I will do so. We’re not going to take kindly to being shown the middle finger and, in our next sitting, they had better be there,” she warned.
However, City spokesperson, Nthatise Modingoane said ARP [had] submitted written responses to the four petitions related to them. The petitions were received on Monday [27 March] and responses submitted on Wednesday [29 March].
At the hearings on 31 March and 1 April, the City was represented by the ARP’s Aubrey Musetha and Sandile Mavundla. “It is factually inaccurate that the City failed to appear before the GPL Petitions Standing Committee at East Bank Hall,” Modingoane said.
“In fact, councillor Steve Kotze, who is chairperson of the City’s Petition Standing Committee, led a team of different departments that responded to petitions tabled at the hearings. As part of the outcome of the hearings three of the City’s departments are on an oversight visit today [4 April] at Lombardy West.”
Reuben Mathe, of Noweto Development Organisation, had petitioned the legislature due to the lack of electricity in one section of Diepsloot which resulted in unprecedented crimes of rape, robbery, murder and burglaries in the area, including incidents where members of the police were also killed.
He also petitioned after the City and Department of Human Settlements failed to formalise the Diepsloot informal settlement which, he said, ostensibly is made up of the informal settlers who were removed from the Jukskei River banks.
Malibu Mokgabudi of Far East Bank’s Ext 9 and 10, petitioned the legislature on behalf of tenants in a rental dispute with landlords; while Sarah Ngobese petitioned on behalf of the landlords.
Read: Hats off to Mpho Motsumi for world-class mall in Alex
Angela Makgaretse of the Alexandra Concerned Residents Association (Acra) brought a petition on the failure of the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) to cater for the missing middle in the allocation of houses for those qualifying for RDP homes and those earning well over R10 000 who qualify for bonded houses.
“We want the ARP to also cater for the missing middle between the RDPs and the bonded houses. Some of us earn a salary and do not qualify for an RDP house while at the same time we do not earn enough to qualify for bonded houses. Where do we go?” she asked.
Do you think it was appropriate and fair for the chairperson of the Petitions Standing Committee, Refilwe Mogale to suggest that the City of Johannesburg was giving them the middle finger by not attending her session? WhatsApp your views on 079 439 5345.
