The Chief Executive Officer at Witvlei Village Council, Tinana Matjila, says there are plans to develop the village despite the limited resources at its disposal.
Construction of a sewage system and toilets at houses with elders and disabled community members, among other key services, are part of the plans.
Matjila revealed this in an exclusive interview with the nbc News team at Witvlei.
The Chief Executive Officer at Witvlei Village Council, Tinana Matjila, said that apart from introducing new services, the council is also focused on collecting rates and taxes, which had been lacking.
Matjila says that office administrative activities also warrant serious attention, as record-keeping is vital at any institution.
“Except water, the council has other several projects running the construction of a sewer treatment plant. Most of the sewer from the houses is collected manually because there is nothing carrying it to the bigger plant. Another project is the extension. I understand that a few years ago people started grabbing land, so they were resettled or allocated an area and told to wait until the services have come. There is no budget for toilets, just a toilet in an erf, but the council is looking at people, disabled people, and the elderly while they are waiting for service provision and obviously the town planning.”
There are also plans to relocate vendors who are operating along the main road to an imagined park that has toilets and is fenced off.
“We have offered them space at the park and said this is better. It is not directly in the danger line to move here, but they are adamant that if the police are not doing anything, what we can do as a local authority is park them there and cook on the rocks if they don’t want to move, but it’s not good for the town because it’s unhygienic. There are no facilities as per the local authority act. When trading food, there must be running water, there must be ventilation, but people are cooking on the floor. Where do they keep their utensils?”
Furthermore, the CEO expressed the hope that the local abattoir will be reopened for employment creation as well as economic development in the village.
Matjila also bemoans the vandalism of state properties by community members.
Witvlei has a population of more than five thousand inhabitants.
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