What was supposed to be a special day for Modimolle’s Extension 13 pensioner Maria Morudu resulted in a chaotic stand-off between certain community members and the city fathers.
On the agenda for the day was Modimolle-Mookgophong Mayor Marlene van Staden, scheduled to cut the ribbon for the formal launch of the electrification of 500 households.
But alas, all hell broke loose when a section of the audience interrupted Van Staden’s speech, pressing home their own demands for service delivery, or lack thereof.
The event was held, symbollycally so, on the premises of pensioner Morudu.
Van Staden had invited the residents to witness the official unveiling of the first phase of electrification in the area, following the power connection of 500 households.
The drama unfolded when the officials were preparing the cloth (as a ribbon) which the mayor was scheduled to cut.
Some in the crowd protested loudly, suggesting that the blue ribbon represented the colours of a political party.
Officials from the administration moved swiftly, and replaced the makeshift ribbon with a black cloth, which some murmured, in jest, it was borrowed from the colours of another rival political party.
And oh, the blue-coloured gazebo branded in the emblem of the old Mookgophong Local Municipality, was also caught up in the unfolding political whirlwind, supposedly representative of the initial political party related to the cloth.
Officialdom relented and removed the gazebo.
Some of the vocal protesters drummed up support for the community to reject the distribution of free energy efficient bulbs.
Common sense ultimately prevailed, with Van Staden able to deliver her address.
She said the project was made possible with funds from the Integrated National Electrification Programme.
“In the next financial year the municipality is planning to install water and sewerage to the same homes in Extension 13, and a further 500 homes will be connected to the electricity grid,” she said.
The mayor and her entourage had to navigate their way out of the area after the event, with a group of local residents pro-testing and blockading the official mayoral vehicle.
