City of Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has promised to act on the issues raised by the people of Diepsloot following a spike in crime and other challenges.
This was after residents of Diepsloot expressed their frustrations and anger at Gwamanda, who visited the area to discuss the issues of water, health, crime, gender-based violence, electricity, corruption, drugs, and murder rates in the area.
The community of Diepsloot was up in arms a few months ago when they protested about the high crime rate in the area.
Police Minister Bheki Cele even visited the community to address some of the challenges, but he told them some of the issues fall outside the policing aspect.
During the visit by Gwamanda on Monday evening, the discussion included crime, the issue of tuck shops selling expired food, illicit cigarettes, and other products that are a danger to the community.
Residents who attended the meeting said the area has become crime-infested.
Addressing the community, Gwamanda alluded to their concerns and demands and said they would attend to them.
He said their grievances went on for far too long without being addressed, stating he would give his MMCs a deadline to tackle matters in the area.
This also includes the housing backlog and unregistered tuck shops that are selling fake food items.
He promised they would act on the concerns raised by the community.
"We are a government of local unity, the government of the people... I get a sense of pride when I hear that one of my MMCs is interacting with the community on a level that affects their daily experiences," he said.
MMCs for Public Safety Mgcini Tshwaku, Human Settlements Department Anthea Leitch, Development Planning Eunice Mgcina, and Environmental and Infrastructure Service Department Jack Sekwaila were part of the delegation that met with the community of Diepsloot.
IOL Politics