Please madam Mayor, it is time to do the right thing…
When you drive on the gravel roads of the new Obed Nkosi housing project just outside Ratanda you will notice the desperation of people who are likely to be subjected to the same conditions they were in before the houses were given to them.
You will see many unemployed, hungry residents who thought that being awarded a new house would change their lives.
At night it is a dark place. It is unsafe for women and children who are waiting for the workers of Lesedi to come and switch on the lights. They have been waiting more than three months now madam Mayor and, with all due respect, I know that it might be difficult to understand this as you read this article inside your air conditioned office, but the seasons are changing and the nights are getting colder.
If you drive a few kilometres further, to the underdeveloped sections of Ratanda where the bucket system is yet to be eradicated, the shack fires are being lit – they are being lit by those same people who, in many cases, have been on a waiting list for an RDP house for more than 15 years.
Somehow they are being ignored. Preference is often given to people from outside Lesedi’s borders. On the streets they talk about bribes that have to be paid before you can get help. You can see the utter discontent in their eyes as they walk many miles to collect firewood. This is sad.
Madam Mayor, please note that this is not an attack on you personally, but as the Mayor of these people the buck stops with… well you.
You would have noticed that two thirds of your voters, your people, those people who complained about nepotism, corruption and all sorts of things to the Public Protector – yes those people did not want to sing to you at the Multipurpose Hall in Ratanda. They remained seated.
Only your Councillors addressed you with the respect a mayor should get from her people. The people are upset and there are many reasons for this.
Wasteful Expenditure
When close to R2-million is spent on the salary (and legal fees) of a man who never had to show up for work, the people will ask questions. They are wondering what he knows. They are wondering how a suspended manager is able to walk away from corruption allegations with a golden handshake and a clean record to boot. What is it that he knows that has made him so untouchable?
They also wonder how it is possible that one building contractor can receive close to R1.5 million for a project that will never be completed. That was for your house in Bergsig that will be seen as one of many white elephants of your time in charge.
In that same neighbourhood (please do drive through it sometime) many of the new houses are falling apart. Where were the building inspectors? Who signed off those houses?
I’m only scratching the surface here. I know that as by now it is no secret that officials from SARS and the Hawks have been paying regular visits to your offices. What is going on? What will they discover in Council’s closets? And how will this affect this once thriving municipality?
Madam Mayor, over the last few months I have posed these and many other questions to your communications department, but I was ignored even when I asked to cover the positive things Lesedi might be doing. I have been told that I have an agenda, yet I promise you today that every single question was asked with the best interest of your people in mind.
You approached me once and said that we should have a meeting. I’m still waiting for that invitation, but I doubt that I’ll get it, because madam Mayor, I have this suspicion that you will do the right thing and hand in your resignation at the next council meeting.
*For more information on some of the issues mentioned in this opinion piece, follow the links below:
Money wasted on Municipal Manager accused of corruption.
More money for legal fees, please.
RDP Houses for those with connections.
