People deserve to live in clean and attractive communities and residents must play their part by making sure their areas are neat and safe. However, there are services that need to be provided regularly by the local government. These include repairing potholes and cutting grass and bushes on municipal land.
In next year’s local elections, residents must insist on voting for parties that will deliver services; parties that will use their taxes to better their lives. Communities must not tolerate rotting litter in their surroundings. We don’t want the risks of cholera and diarrhoea!
For example, the river that runs through Zone 1, Ga-Rankuwa, has an unbearable stink from sewage flowing into it due to poor maintenance. We wish the residents would stand up and stop the rot before it is too late, to prevent illnesses and deaths.
Let the residents participate in the management of their environment and not be discouraged by narrow political interests. The tentacles of corruption have been left for far too long to grow before they can be cut down. Perhaps it would not be too late to do that next year. — AK Bantseke, Ga-Rankuwa.