ANC’s treasurer general, Paul Mashatile assured residents of Ditsobotla his party will ensure that those deployed to the disbanded municipality will do the right thing by the people and deliver services.
But it was crucial for the municipality to be dissolved, Mashatile said this yesterday – during an election campaign ahead of next month’s by-elections – in one of the squalid informal settlements called Jerusalema, outside Lichtenburg.
By-elections to be held on the 14th of December, follow the dissolution of Ditsobotla local municipality after months of instability. “The council was dissolved precisely because of service delivery problems. When I arrived here, I got a briefing from the provincial chairperson, the premier, and the mayor that because of these problems, the leadership of the province decided these comrades must go so that we can have a new election.
“We are saying to our comrades, please when you bring in new councilors bring those comrades that will have the energy to work for the community. So that we don’t have to come back here and there is a blockage of sewerage, and the roads are not working. So we are going to make sure that when we select now, we try to select some of our best and committed comrades so that they can come and work selflessly for the people,” he said.
One of the residents, Tshepo Mokgethi, asked for plans and time frames from the government.
“What is the strategy that you are going to implement to ensure that there is service delivery? We have a high rate of unemployment in Jerusalema, schools are very far for our kids and the clinic is also very far, especially for elders and expecting women. We also don’t have water. So what is the strategy that you are bringing to us as residents? We also want the time frames”.
Kamiel Nkashe also echoed Mokgethi’s sentiments. “We don’t have roads, water and toilets in our area. There’s absolutely nothing as far as service delivery is concerned. We keep voting for this party but there are no services. Now we live in these appalling conditions and get diseases like TB caused by the odor of spilling sewerage,” he said.
