A meeting between the Eltivillas Residents' Association and the Makhado Municipality two weeks ago highlighted the problem of a lack of communication, as well as the unavailability of government departments responsible for the delivery of certain services.
A large group of Eltivillas residents attended the meeting at the Makhado Municipality on 10 February. The meeting was chaired by the Makhado mayor, Cllr Shonisani Sinyosi. The meeting was also a follow-up on meetings last year with representatives of CoGHSTA, the Vhembe District Municipality and the Makhado Municipality.
When the meeting started, Eltivillas residents were promised feedback on issues previously highlighted such as the sewage that spills over in the roads and the lack of water in certain areas. The problem of trucks parking illegally in front of the Eltivillas CBD, was again raised.
The Director, Technical Services at Makhado Municipality, Mr William Molokomme, tried to address some of the issues. He said the water shortage in town was due to broken pumps and has since been restored. The municipality is also in the process of fixing potholes and putting up speed humps in Eltivillas. He mentioned that a budget was approved to rehabilitate certain streets, but that the tender needs to be allocated.
As far as parking for the trucks is concerned, Molokomme mentioned that a cost estimate was obtained to put paving in an area where the trucks could park. Such a facility would cost in the region of R5 million.
The group of Eltivillas residents objected to the fact that representatives from the departments and municipalities responsible for certain services, were not present at the meeting. They requested that the meeting be postponed for two weeks and that the role players such as the VDM and CoGHSTA be invited to be present.