Vrededorp residents want President to address crime, service delivery during SONA

The main street in Vrededorp, Johannesburg

Vrededorp residents in Johannesburg have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to use his State of the Nation (SONA) speech to address the scourge of crime, substance abuse, unemployment and poor service delivery in the area.

Ramaphosa will deliver the SONA on Thursday evening at a joint sitting of Parliament in Cape Town.

One of the residents, Deon Botha says, “All I can tell you, here by us substance this thing of drugs, I would like as the President of our land, he must notice this this, because of the drugs, our youth are going to the gutters.”

A community member, who goes by the name Jennifer says, “There is no water, we never have water and it’s always a problem when we don’t have any water, we must ask everyone for water and people are stingy with water. There is a lot of crime here a lot of shooting but what can we do, there is a lot of substances abuse and it’s been going on for so long.”

She adds, ‘The President must stand up and man up he can’t be lazy, he’s the President, he must look at our community, he is useless.”

RDP HOUSES

Lucious Slater says, “The President must give us house, you see, we are suffering, like RDP houses, you see, we are renting here in this place…people are suffering, there is no job and everything.”

Alicia du Toit says she is scared for the young children growing up in the are due to its violence.

Du Toit says, “The President must help people, help children the most, to get into school, to get education, the children need more job opportunities who are finished with school, who are struggling with life.”

Leon Scholz says the President breaks his promises, “You tell him anything, nothing is going to happen unfortunately.”

“Service delivery is a challenge definitely, there is no maintenance, no infrastructure maintenance and I think they are turning their backs on poor people, that exactly what is happening, but I think that is the main concern, no maintenance unfortunately and issues with power and issues with water.”