Political parties in the North West have vowed to take control of the disbanded Ditsobotla Local Municipality from the ANC. Campaigning for the December 14th by-elections is currently underway at the Lichtenburg-based municipality. The DA’s chief whip in the North West, Freddy Sonakile, said that given a chance his party will improve the economy of Ditsobotla.
“One of the things that we will be doing differently, first is to clean the administration of the municipality. By clean out we mean conducting qualifications verifications and skills audits, to see and ensure that the people who are currently in the system are fit for purpose and equal to the task.
“We realise that there has been a lot of cadre deployment in the municipalities that is holding back service delivery. We would want to get the basics right. Your refuse collections, repair potholes, and even get to a point of attracting investors that the municipality has lost. The way Ditsobotla is situated, it is the gateway to Mahikeng and even Botswana, and businesses must now be attracted to the municipality. So that they can come and invest and create jobs for the people,” Sonakile said.
While Forum for Service Delivery’s leader, Mbahari Kekana has promised transparent leadership. “Those who use their council positions to enrich themselves will be chucked out without mercy. We owe it to our people, to be honest, as well as to spend their rates and taxes reasonably. We are calling on the community of Ditsobotla to give us a chance, as we are ready to fight and take over the municipality to provide communities with services that they deserve,” said Kekana.
Meanwhile, political parties contesting the by-elections have until the 21st of November to submit their candidate lists to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
