3 days ago
Residents in Wingate Park left without streetlights for two years
Residents in Wingate Park left without streetlights for two years
Wingate Park residents in Pretoria east are fed up after nearly two years of darkness, with 'not a single working streetlight in sight' on Somerset and Riet streets.
Wayne Dreyer, who lives on Somerset Street, said the problem has been ongoing for close to 24 months.
Despite multiple emails and formal complaints sent to the city, he claims no action has been taken.
'I've sent countless emails, escalated the issue, and still nothing has been done,' he said.
Dreyer said the situation has become increasingly dangerous.
He added that ongoing roadworks in the area make it especially hazardous to navigate at night without lighting.
Dreyer believes it has become a safety risk as they are driving past trenches and around barriers in complete darkness.
'Residents continue to pay their monthly municipal bills without fail and feel neglected by the city.
'We pay a lot every month, and we're not getting the basics in return,' he said.
According to Dreyer, the darkness has led to a noticeable increase in crime.
'We're seeing break-ins almost every second week. This has been going on for three months now.'
He said he had to spend more money to privately install extra lighting and surveillance equipment.
Ward 47 councillor Lida Erasmus confirmed the issue, explaining that budget decisions made after the DA lost control of the metro have worsened service delivery.
She said the DA previously approved a budget to capacitate internal teams to do streetlight repairs, instead of relying on expensive contractors.
'The plan was to reduce contractor costs and empower city personnel to carry out maintenance,' she said.
However, she said once the DA administration was removed, the allocated budget was reduced and shifted elsewhere.
'That's when the plan fell apart.'
Erasmus has also started a petition for the non-functional streetlights in the ward.
According to her, 90% of the ward is dark.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo acknowledged the backlog.
'The city is aware of the streetlight outage and the backlog being experienced across all regions, including Ward 47,' he said.
Mashigo confirmed that limited resources are delaying maintenance response times.
He said currently, the region is attending to new and outstanding streetlight complaints in line with the city's maintenance schedule.
'Wingate Park, specifically Somerset and Riet streets, is scheduled to be addressed between June 9 and 13.
'The standard turnaround time for a single streetlight complaint is 72 hours, but this hasn't been met due to the backlog,' Mashigo added.
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