KTC residents have thanked the City’s mobile office for bringing municipal services to their doorstep last week, but they said more people could have been helped if a better job had been done to get word out about the event.
The City officials at the KTC Hall helped residents to log queries and service requests electronically and they dealt with account queries and answered questions about rates and municipal services.
However, fewer than 100 people were helped on the day. This could have been due to the heavy rains on Thursday, but residents who spoke to Vukani said the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) had done a poor job of advertising the event.
Pensioner Armstrong Mayiye, 70, said many seniors had only learnt about the event by word of mouth. “We were told the announcement was made on a WhatsApp group. Look at me and all those who are here and tell us whether we could be on WhatsApp let alone knowing what that is. This hall should have been full had they used the old way where the loud-hailer was used to call residents.
“This is disappointing because people that have all these challenges are seniors. They are the owners of these houses. I am lucky to be here because somebody told me,” he said.
He urged the City’s mobile office to return. “What they have done should be commended and applauded. We cannot afford to travel to town for these challenges that we face. We live on social grants. Now that they have seen the poor turnout, they should speak to the leaders again and come back. I am sure there are more people who would have loved to be here.”
Another senior, who only identified herself as Nokwanda, said: “This was not properly communicated to residents. It is worrying that there are only a few of us. I also think the weather has also contributed to the poor turnout.”
Sanco secretary Lumkile Msila said they had tried their best to let everyone know about the day.
“What the seniors forget is that for us to be able to use the loud-hailer, each house needs to donate a R2, something that is no longer happening. But we are taking the criticism and hoping to do well next time.”
He urged residents to spread the word about such events.
