Service delivery by the Drakenstein Municipality 2009-07-30
WITH the whole country up in arms with the lack of services in their areas, I must praise Drakenstein Municipality.
Whilst not turning a blind eye to their shortcomings and flaws, I am happy to announce that at least they are trying their utmost best to deliver on the minimum requirement of that which is expected from them and sometimes exceed the expectations.
On 2 July my parents, who are pensioners, experienced an electrical fault in their house, leaving them in the dark.
Officials that came to look for the fault could not detect it and as such, gave my parents free electricity via a temporary connection for the weekend up until 6 July.
They said that because my parents had bought that house from the council they should themselves employ an electrician that could come and fix the fault which lay in the underground cable.
On 6 July it became clear that the problem was bigger than expected as the cable lay under a cement surface and we needed almost R5000 for the repairs. The power was disconnected.
For two weeks thereafter my parents tried very hard and in vain to collect the money so that their electricity could be connected. However, this was not easy since they are pensioners.
It was also the coldest and rainiest period of July when they found themselves and their grandchildren without power to cook or warm their home. The officials both at the electricity department and Mbekweni municipal office had no compassion.
On the evening of 14 July, my father sought the number of the Municipal Manager, Dr Sidima Kabanyane, and spoke to him that evening at around 21:00. He promised to look into the problem.
The following morning at 09:00, he was there in person accompanied by another official, introduced as the head of the division.
After surveying the house, they summoned the electricity department officials who agreed that a permanent connection could be made above ground. Within two hours the electricity was connected and my father was shedding tears of relief and gratitude.
Believe it or not, Dr Kabanyane called that afternoon to find out whether everything was still fine.
Thank you Dr Kabanyane and those in your employ that are committed to rendering service.ME Ndarana
