21 Oktober / October 2016
Kosmosnuus / Cosmos News
3
Community frustrated by uncaring municipality
STANDERTON - Members of the community in Rooikoppen are up in arms and frustrated by the uncaring attitude of Lekwa Municipality. Residents called Cosmos News to come and take note of their plight on Thursday, 13 October. Their frustration emanates from an incomplete job left by a contractor that was offered a tender to install water and sanitation pumps in the area. After digging the trenches and installing pipes, the workmen left some areas open and the leaking water remained stagnant, causing a horrible smell that is also detrimental to people’s health. Some streets are not accessible due to uncovered trenches and muddy conditions. One such frustrated resident is Stella Khumalo. Khumalo has no access to the garage due to the heap of soil left by the contractor in front of the gate to the yard. The
whole street is inaccessible to ambulances, fire fighters and the police. Khumalo further reports that she has been to the Sakhile offices of Lekwa Municipality to report the problem after the contractor reportedly abandoned the project six weeks ago. The response from a Lekwa Municipality official was that the people themselves can hire vehicles from Sahara Sand to remove the heap of soil and that the municipality is not responsible for it. A 55-year-old woman whose garden is flooded with waist from leaking pipes described the situation as a hazard to children who frequently play in the mud. “Lekwa Municipality does not care about the community that voted them into power,” she said. Attempts to get comments from Lekwa Municipality failed because the phone of the communication officer went to voice mail up until print. DM
Four arrested after attempted implement theft
A heap of soil in front of a family in Rooikoppen that makes access to the gate to their home impossible.
A health hazard in the form of a stagnant stinking trench in front of a yard where kids frequently play.
On Saturday, 15 October at about 09:00, four men were arrested after they attempted to steal agricultural implements and other tools at the Jerry van Vuuren Building. These implements and the tools all belong to the state. The men appeared in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 17 October. Pictured here are some of the implements that the four men attempted to steal as well as the vehicles that were used by the accused.