Delft residents accuse City of neglect and sabotage

The ward 24 community in Delft has accused the City of Cape Town of neglecting their ward and sabotaging their ward councillor.

Delft activist and resident Sisa Makaula said he and many ward 24 residents were disgruntled by the City and said the City was deliberately “playing politics”.

“Councillor Tause is an ANC member, and the City is the DA. They deliberately try to sabotage her by ensuring they don’t assist her, so that she fails in her mandate as ward councillor.

“So many things are falling apart: the parks, the library and the sports fields. These all belong to the City. Our ward councillor does not even have an office to work in,” he said.

Vumile “Mabra” Malte, another disgruntled ward 24 resident, said it saddens him to see their ward councillor being ill treated by the City.

“If you could just see the office she has been allocated, you’d see that the space is not even enough. It demotivates you as a resident to even go there to report a matter. The space is not barricaded and not adequately secure. The councillor could be attacked in such an unsafe environment,” she said.

Phumla Tause, the ward councillor of ward 24, said the conditions of her office were a huge concern.

“The office space allocated to me is not even in my ward. The office is in the storage cell of some hall. There is no ventilation and no flooring. Community members wrote to the speaker of council, and there has been no action.

“This office facility has no security for my safety. Whenever I make a request for the benefit of my ward, I am sent from pillar to post. Nobody gets back to me. They say they’ll fix things but never do. The City does not maintain the parks and any other facility in this ward,” she said.

The City responded to the allegations and said: “We can confirm that the councillor is occupying office space at the Delft South Hall. The Recreation and Parks Department provides security services for the site for 24 hours, and the facility is maintained and cleaned in accordance with the City's cleaning schedule. As a result of vandalism, the ablutions are out of service, and plans are in place to have them repaired.”

Mayco member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said residents of ward 24 are encouraged to use alternative recreational centres within the Delft area, namely Mandela Peace park Recreation Centre and Voorbrug Sports Field.

“Regarding parks in the Delft area, the department is aware of the vandalism and illegal dumping concern at public parks in Delft. Plans to repair all play equipment within the area are in place, and cleaning and maintenance of the parks is performed in accordance with the City’s standard maintenance schedule.

“Due to intimidation by unknown persons in the area, the service provider cannot execute the repairs, and a case has been opened at Delft SAPS. Once the matter has been resolved, the department will engage with all relevant stakeholders and place signage conveying the repairs at strategic points at the parks.

“The department will continue to review its safety and security arrangements and, where feasible and as a matter of priority, consider improvements to ensure the safety of our facilities. Residents are encouraged to take a stand against criminals and help us protect our infrastructure by reporting any threat to community facilities to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cell phone or 107 from a landline,” she said.