Pretoria - Residents in the townships have aired their frustrations over poor service delivery in the City of Tshwane, attributing it to political instability bred by a shaky coalition government.
The Pretoria News this week solicited views of residents about recent political developments in the municipality, after former mayor Randall Williams resigned in a huff on February 13.
It took council at least 15 days before it could elect Williams’ successor, Dr Murunwa Makwarela, as a new mayor.
However, Makwarela, who was Cope’s sole councillor, spent only seven days in office before he resigned after he submitted a fraudulent insolvency rehabilitation certificate to City Manager Johann Mettler to be reinstated as mayor – after he was disqualified as a councillor following revelation that the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, declared him insolvent in 2016.
Soshanguve Block L resident, Tebogo Choma, expressed concern that the chopping and changing of mayors and MMCs has a negative bearing on service delivery in Tshwane.
Choma said since the coalition government came into existence in Tshwane after the 2016 municipal polls there had been political instability, which he believed was behind a lacklustre delivery of services.
“Residents have been exposed to poor service delivery because there is no single political party in charge and able to make decisions.
“The political parties in power also don’t demonstrate unity when it comes to running the municipality together.
“They are unable to vote for a budget because of political disagreements.
“This has compromised service delivery from water to waste management and economic developments,” he said.
He said it was extremely worrying that the city has had at least five mayors in a very short space of time.
“(There is a) failure of political parties to work together, including the ruling party, the ANC, because it is part of the opposition parties in Tshwane. I have noticed that the ANC can’t work with other parties. Service delivery in Tshwane is compromised due to political instability.”
Ga-Rankuwa resident Angie Molebatsi said: “I want to state my disgust with this DA-led municipality. Our services are zero; you report streetlights for up to two months with no assistance. People are mugged almost every night and potholes are growing bigger and bigger. In the previous ANC municipality when you reported a problem, you would get help in no time.”
She accused the DA of only caring for people living in the suburbs.
“Even when you have a reference number it does not help. For sewerage, you can report and wait for two weeks with stinking water in your yard. The DA only cares for areas in town and not townships.”
In addition, Molebatsi said the collection of refuse was also a huge problem.
“We put refuse outside, only to have to collect them back into the yards. This encourages illegal dumping all over and the smell is unbearable.”
Another Ga-Rankuwa resident, Sphiwe Phakathi, said: “We are suffering under the Tshwane coalition government, especially in the townships. They stopped free wi-fi indigent programmes, and child-headed homes are on their own now.”
She shared a sentiment that townships were neglected in terms of the provision of infrastructure development compared with suburbs such as Menlyn and Centurion.
Phakathi bemoaned the fact that 90% of industrial sites like Babelegi in Hammanskraal, Ga-Rankuwa industrial site in Zone 15 and Ekandustria have closed down under the coalition government.
“In the past, under Kgosientso Ramokgopa, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) were able to conduct business with the City without any red tape but now it is a thing of the past.”
A resident, who wanted to be identified as NTJ, said: “Coalition governments hamper service delivery in a very bad way. First, coalition governments are not stable so there’s no political leadership in municipalities. They change mayors, speakers and MMCs every now and then.”
NTJ said political instability often resulted in lack of maintenance of roads and failure by the municipality to collect dustbins.
“Moreover, coalition governments are affected by frequent protests and demonstrations by other opposition parties to sabotage the sitting coalition government,” he said.
During his tenure, Williams slammed the narrative that the municipality was prioritising service delivery for suburban residents over those living in the townships.
He said the indigent programme was currently supporting more than 4 000 households in reaction to criticism by the ANC that poor residents eligible for free water and electricity have to wait for two years to be approved for an indigent programme.
Williams said: “The City is continuing with the indigent programme that’s designed to assist residents who are unable to pay for municipal services and serves as a vehicle to fight poverty.”
Pretoria News