HERALD COLUMN: THIS IS MY OPINION: Let Koster inspire us to reject bad service delivery

The North West High Court in Mahikeng issued a judgement on 12 January 2021 in favour of the concerned citizen’s group, Kgetlengrivier Ratepayers’ Association who had brought a matter to the court regarding the continued non-delivery of basic services by the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality (Koster and Swartruggens). Judge Festus Gura ruled that the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality were not fulfilling their constitutional duties as mandated, to provide their own constituents with basic services of water, sewage, and electricity. Judge Gura reportedly stated that they “are in breach of their constitutional obligation to supply potable (safe, drinkable) water sustainably”. The judge then apparently ruled and mandated the said Kgetlengrivier Ratepayers’ Association to proceed as they said they would, to fix the water supply system and to repair and see to the efficient running of the town’s sewerage system and start with looking into why there were continued power failures off the electrical grid, for the town of Koster and Swartruggens. The non-repair of potholes also comes into this equation. This, in my opinion, was a landmark ruling and sets a remarkable precedent of the interpretation of the law, for a new way forward, for a welldefined relationship between the responsibility and the process of accountability of municipalities, to ensure efficient service delivery. The judgement also confirms and opens the doors for independent citizens to successfully bring justifiable complaints before the courts of South Africa and thereby become empowered to rectify the non-delivery of services and by doing so, be paid for this. This, in my opinion, gives all the citizens of this country the required hope and confidence in our much cherished, independent, judicial system and our democratic system. In many municipal districts throughout the country, where non-delivery or highly inefficient delivery of basic services includes the shocking number of potholes in those towns and residential areas, independent ratepayers’ associations, are now forming similar concerned citizen committees to address these matters that the North West High Court ruling has confirmed, is the law. These independent ratepayers’ associations are able to submit claims for the work done, and must, and are, being paid. Any such concerned citizen committees should fairly represent the demographics of the population in any such municipality and, in my opinion, there is a need for such a movement right here in Tzaneen and Modjadjiskloof. Who has their hands up to participate in this proposal?