COUNCILLOR ASSURES OTTAWA RESIDENTS HE WILL WORK WITH ALL ROLE PLAYERS TO CREATE A LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR RATEPAYERS AND RESIDENTS

COUNCILLOR SIYABONGA By Subry Govender

The residents of Ottawa, near Verulam on the North Coast, are fed up with the continuing degeneration, degradation and destruction of their residential area despite repeated representations to the Ethekwini municipality. They expressed their anger at two meetings held at the Ottawa community hall on Wednesday (March 8) and Thursday, March 16. The residents are concerned about the filth, litter and garbage that engulfs the main road running through the town and in the complexes of businesses on the main road. The residents say the degeneration of their residential area is aggravated by the motor scrap yards, panel beating shops, truck depots, a container depot, a livestock business, destruction of the Ottawa river and huge trucks that rampage through the main road and the residential areas. The councillor for the area, Mr Siyabonga Thango, who attended the second meeting and another councillor, Mr Stanley Moonsamy, who attended both meetings, were told by the residents that they should help the people to restore the residential and environmental quality of the area. The meetings were held under the auspices of the Ottawa Environmental Forum. The facilitator of the Forum, Ms Andisha Maharaj, said as ratepayers and taxpayers, the residents were entitled to a clean and pollution-free environment. She said in terms of the constitution of the new democratic South Africa, residents were entitled to a safe and clean living environment. “The eThekwini municipality has failed miserably to take any action to restore the dignity of our residential area,” she said. “We have in our possession correspondence from eThekwini officials acknowledging that there are major problems with air quality in Ottawa. The main cause of the poor air quality is the foul stench emanating from the Phoenix Waste Water Treatment facility nearby. The ponds which were to have been dredged every 20 years has never been cleaned since its inception in 1982.

(MS ANDISHA MAHARAJ) “Complaints have been lodged with the Mayoral offices since 2002. Another major source of the foul smell is the livestock business which operates from unauthorized re-claimed land on the banks of the Ottawa River. “We are saying enough is enough. We seek relief from this dreadful situation and demand a 50 percent rates reduction,” she said. She emphasised that the deteriorating situation in Ottawa “is a direct violation of our human and constitutional rights”. “All operations such as trucking, container storage, scrap yards, and heavy industries must be immediately moved out of our residential area to industrial locations where they could operate without destroying the environment,” she said. Other residents said representations had been made for the council to provide concrete bins where people who pass through the area could deposit their tin cans, bottles, food bags and other material. They also called for “no litter” signs in IsiZulu and English to be erected on the main and side roads.

Some business owners who attended the second meeting said they provided jobs for people and would want to work with the residents for the regeneration of the area. Both Mr Thango and Mr Moonsamy in response said they would work with all the residents and role players to overcome their concerns and to restore the living environment of the area. “We commit ourselves in consultative and collective partnership with all community structures and ratepayers in resolving matters of concern to build a better community,” said Mr Thango. “We pledge that together we can do more to build better communities.” Mr Thango said as the ward councillor he wanted to create an area committee of five people “which will advise me on issues within the area of Parkgate Phase 1 and 2 and Ottawa”. “I also want to extend my office through a volunteer at the Ottawa Community Hall on a weekly basis.” Mr Thango said they would hold a meeting at the Ottawa Community Hall on Sunday, March 26 to elect the representatives. “I want to commit myself to work with all stake holders within the frame-work of the law that govern all of us. “This will mean that we want to create an environmentally-friendly community and environment for all of us.” Meanwhile, the Environmental Forum is to submit a detailed petition to the office of the Mayor, Zandile Gumede. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com