FTLM faces backlash for hosting mining forum in Polokwane

BURGERSFORT/ APEL

The Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality has faced backlash for hosting its Mining Forum in Polokwane, 152 km away from its main offices in Burgersfort and about 90 -100 km from Apel, their other offices.

The municipality announced on its Facebook Page, on June 23 that the forum got underway in Polokwane, Capricorn District.

“The Fetakgomo Tubatse Mining Forum got underway in Polokwane, bringing together the Municipality, mining houses and key stakeholders for an important conversation on how mining can better serve local communities.
“The forum is focused on strengthening working relations between the municipality and the mining sector, with particular attention on service delivery, job creation, community upliftment and local economic growth. It will also look at the implementation of Social Labour Plans, possible joint projects, and ways to improve consultation and monitoring so that mining activities bring real and visible benefits to the people of Fetakgomo Tubatse,” revealed a statement on the official FTLM page.

The Sekhukhune Times observed that most locals were against the decision to host the forum in Polokwane, and not within the FTLM.

Locals questioned, “how can you talk about Tubatse Fetakgomo’s minerals in Polokwane, while we have lot of places to hold such meetings around Tubatse”?
Another resident, remarked, “We don’t have leadership at Fetakgomo Tubatse. Do you think a wise leader can go and host a mining forum at another municipality which is not even in our Sekhukhune region. Kamo ba tlogobotša gore: “they want to build a platinum city. Let’s vote out these sellouts.”
Some of the people who commented on the post, compared the FTLM leadership to ‘’puppets”, alleging the ANC Comrades at the FTLM were using the municipality resources to excite their ‘masters’ in Polokwane.
Locals also questioned the authenticity of the forum and the criteria on how it was elected. “Do the communities know the formation of that Forum and its elected members and finally why at Polokwane”?

It’s not for the first-time people in Fetakgomo Tubatse criticized the municipality’s decisions of hosting events outside the Sekhukhune region.

The municipality has previously held a three-day Ward Committee Conference in Bela Bela, they also held some strategic planning and stakeholder summits in Polokwane and Tzaneen in the past years.

Locals said the money used for travelling to the venues, can be used to finish some of the municipality’s abandoned projects.


Sekhukhune Times queried the FTLM Communications team about their alleged preference of venues outside the municipal jurisdiction, and if maybe, venues in the FTLM area were  seen to be substandard.

 A question was also posed, on why they chose to host the forum in Polokwane and not in Sekhukhune.



None of the queries directed to the municipality were answered at the time of going to press.