Even in the face of public rage, the North West provincial government is adamant that its decision to supply donkey carts to residents of ward 2 in Dibono and Manawana areas outside Mahikeng, was the best under the circumstances.
For a couple of days now, the North West has been the subject of discussions and criticism on social media amid accusations that the government is losing the plot. Activist, Thato Molosankwe, said buying donkey carts in this day and age is a demonstration that the government has failed in its mandate to uplift the poor.
“The government has failed to develop rural areas. They have failed to restore the dignity of the people, and improve their lives. Now they have resorted to taking them backward by giving them donkey carts,” Molosankwe said. However, a spokesperson for the North West transport department Alpheus Koonyaditse defended the donkey carts saying they are provided for in the national rural development strategy.
“This policy was developed by the national department to deal with challenges faced by the people in rural areas. It was in line with section 217 of the constitution. We will continue to educate our people. “We will continue to explain the rationale behind this, hopefully, people will begin to understand.
However, we do acknowledge that people reacted the way they did because some of them may not necessarily understand, but we will just ask people to look into the national strategies and the policies of the government. “The reality is that in rural areas people still rely on animal-formed vehicles. Those people who were given these carts are people who already had donkey carts, but theirs were dilapidated,” said Koonyaditse.
In welcoming the donkey carts, Ward 2 councilor, Tshepiso Motshabi slammed all those who criticised the initiative and accused them of seeking political relevance. “We really appreciate this initiative. This is a marginalised community. I’m so disappointed by those who want to become politically relevant by criticising this good initiative, while our people are suffering.
“We would actually appreciate more of these donkey carts. People from other villages are already asking me if they would also be receiving these donkey carts,” Motshabi said. The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management in the North West said it spent R780 000 on the procurement of 20 donkey carts, consisting of two types of carts – two-seaters for R32 500 and four-seaters for R45 500.
