Poor service delivery remains a huge concern for Laudium residents, who say that their complaints and concerns continue to fall on deaf ears of council officials and that complaining to both the Laudium Customer Service Centre or calling the central call centre is a waste of time, as officials lack professionalism and have a ‘don’t care’ attitude towards customers. Residents say that clearly the “wheels of service delivery are fast falling off” and that even councillors do not have much say in restoring the once neat and clean suburb of Laudium.
Resident, Roy Padayachy, from Cnr 8th Avenue and Crimson Street, vented, “Non-functional street light concerns have been an ongoing issue in our area, including on 8th Avenue, Crimson, Garnet and Aquamarine Streets, for a long time. So, as a concerned resident, I each time follow all the steps stipulated by the council, in order to report faulty streetlights being on during the day, or a streetlight that isn’t working, to the City Of Tshwane toll free number: (080 111 1556). I get the number of the pole and the street(s) affected, obtain a reference number from them, and lastly send the reference number to the Neighborhood Watch Group on WhatsApp, where other residents can be updated and stay informed on what’s going on, with regards to the faulty streetlights. However, most of the time, there is no reaction from the council after my call. The street light on the corner of 8th Ave and Garnet Str, hasn’t been working for weeks. This light is near the pedestrian bridge, where so many crimes take place, as the darkness at night makes it easier for criminals to manoeuvre without being noticed, which makes all of us in the area also feel unsafe. You guys [Laudium Sun] have also reported on the high crime near the bridge, affecting pedestrians.
Despite several calls to the council, the light remains non-functional. Also, for the past few weeks, the streetlights on Aquamarine Street have been on during the day and night, which is so upsetting, because that’s wasting electricity, when we should be using this resource sparingly. I have been reporting such issues since last year with several reference numbers, but nothing seems to be done and if so, it takes weeks, sometimes months to get resolved. What is the point of having a council? What is the point of obtaining several reference numbers when almost always, nothing is being done?
I’m just a concerned resident who cares a lot about my community and the upkeep of Laudium. I sincerely hope the service delivery around here improves soon.”
Garnet Str resident, Deeptie Jeram told the Laudium Sun, “The street light on the corner of 8th Avenue and Garnet Str has not been working for some time now.
I know a couple of residents, who live nearby, who have complained over the past month to the council in Laudium and even called the advertised number for faulty street lights. It was even mentioned a few times on our Neighborhood Watch Group, but as usual, the light still hasn’t been fixed. If and when the council does get it fixed, residents in the area would be exhausted by then and will not have the energy to complain again when the next street light is faulty. It doesn’t help getting reference numbers, as nothing happens thereafter.
I remember during the old days, the council used to switch on all the street lights in an area during the day and then physically drive through each street to check which light was not working. But these days the officials are just lazy and make it our responsibility to check which lights are not working. Even then they ignore us.”
Councillor Mahomed Essop said,
“We have received reports of the broken light on 8th Avenue that needs to be attended to. I have forwarded the reference numbers received to the relevant department. We are dealing with matters one day at a time, in maintaining the safety and upkeep of Laudium.”

Deeptie Jeram of Garnet Str, Laudium, said residents will have no energy to complain again, by the time the street lights are fixed.

Roy Padayachy said he has continuously complained to the council about the faulty street light, but to no avail.

The non-functioning street light (circled) on the Cnr of 8th Ave and Garnet Str, Laudium, that residents have been complaining about.(next to the overhead pedestrian bridge.)