Cape Town - Residents of Macassar are overjoyed that a municipal building that was destroyed in a fire reopened last Friday after repairs were completed.
The municipal building in Macassar was set alight during a protest in 2018, destroying computer equipment, furniture and office records. The municipal staff who were inside the building escaped unharmed but traumatised.
Residents disapproved of the torching of the building as it inconvenienced most of them, particularly elderly residents who had to travel far out of their way to obtain municipal services.
Laurika Wanza is one of the residents who are happy with the new municipal building since they will now be able to walk in to enquire about services.
‘’It is good to see transformation in Macassar since we have too many issues that need the government’s intervention, such as crime. But we are happy to see some of our problems being solved a step at a time. Electricity and water are mostly important for each of us to survive, and now with the reinstatement of our municipal services we are definitely sure that our household concerns will be adhered to by the municipality,’’ she said
Another resident, Theresa Etson, said that this would help save on taxi fare as they won’t have to travel far to obtain municipal services in neighbouring wards.
She said: ‘’A long-awaited-for moment has come. For a while I have been struggling to get help from the municipality due to the distance I had to travel to other neighbouring wards. Now schools have opened and that means more water and electricity will be used, so for any shortages or cuts our municipality will be able to assist us closely.’’
Residents said that many services that were traditionally offered by the municipality before the arson could not be supplied for years while renovations and repairs were under way.
Macassar ward councillor Peter Helfrich said not only was it necessary for funding to be diverted from other crucial projects to repair the damage, but it also had a detrimental impact on service delivery.
‘’During the building’s renovations, I worked tirelessly with our officials to reopen the gates of the building so that customers could be served. Together we then set out clear plans to have the relevant staff return to the building to start serving residents. So far we have also been able to make additional services such as FreeCall lines and mobile offices available for residents’ convenience,’’ he said.
Weekend Argus