Unhappy residents embark on service delivery protest
JANE-FURSE
Former Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM) mayor and a current Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) in Sekhukhune district councillor Alfred Matlala has received a memorandum of grievances last month at the gate of the municipality in Jane Furse.
The memorandum was submitted by joint residents of Molepane, Ntoane, Makalaneng and Mokwete.
According to Matlala who was interrupted by unhappy protesters when giving a short speech prior to signing a memorandum, the community leaders wanted the executive mayor Stanley Ramaila to receive their memorandum instead of MLM Minah Bahula.
Members of the community claimed the current municipal mayor Bahula has never addressed their grievances for the past five years.
“Ramaila has no power to come here and resolve road issues within the local municipalities. He could face the possibilities of being fired with immediate effect as it would be a breach of the district laws,” he said.
The district municipality has its own way of dealing with challenges regulated by laws and local municipality have their own issues and they should abide by the law as well, said Matlala.
He further said he was there merely to receive the memorandum so the responsible officials would respond to it.
“This memorandum doesn’t belong to a place where I work but it was the “will” of your leaders’ for this memorandum to be received by executive mayor,” he concluded.
However residence reiterate that they were unsatisfied by deployment from the district cited that Matlala was a mayor but never visited their area during his tenure.
“This is a service delivery protest,” protesters claimed.
They rejected 3, 5 km road and demanded 10km road promised by mayor Bahula, they reiterated.
In a memorandum we raised various issues such as Road, Water and Electricity, Incomplete RDP houses, incomplete projects of toilets and unacceptable slavery of EPWP workers, so said one of the community leaders, Grey Moshoeu from Ga-Molepane.
“We demand 10km promised road from Mokwete to Ga-Malepane. We reject proposed R150 rate per day and demand R318 which is guided by BCCEI regulations. We also call upon the municipality to stop paying the EPWP workers peanuts of R11, 20 per hour,” said Moshoeu.
The municipality was given 14 working days to respond to the memorandum.
“Stop gate keeping in this municipality. We need to have free access to our municipality as well. Stop shutting door while doing corruption but lying to poor people that all your doors are open,” he adds.
