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“Marikana community has been seriously neglected” – Moolman
“Why do people living in that area not have access to water?
“Why do people living in that area not have access to water? If there is some water infrastructure that I couldn’t find during a visit to the area, kindly provide full details, with reference to the number of families that are dependent on such infrastructure.
“Why have families living at Marikana not been afforded the human dignity of sanitary facilities (temporary or permanent)? Is the administration aware of the challenges that women in the area, in particular, have to face without access to, and the privacy of, an enclosed toilet? Is the administration aware of the high incidence of crime in the area and, in particular, violence against women and children in the area? How many of these families were on a waiting list for state-aided housing, and how long had they been waiting before they moved to Marikana?”
These are some of the burning questions raised by DA councillor, Hans-Jurie Moolman, addressed to the Tlokwe City Council and dated 19 January 2015.
Moolman was referring to the plight of the ward 17 community in Promosa, also known as Marikana.
“I do believe that this community has been seriously neglected, despite calls for intervention from both the public protector and the Human Rights Commission. The executive mayor ridiculed me for raising this at the last council meeting on 26 February, and I was reminded about the homeless in my ward, ward 24. This is, indeed, the case, despite me having called for a shelter for the homeless as far back as 2011,” he said.
All Moolman wants is for Tlokwe’s Office of the Speaker to place the question on the council agenda.
“Thus far, she has refused to do so,” he said with concern.
Thembisile Tekani, a member of the Marikana community, says it seems clear that the municipality has no intention of carrying out the tasks that they agreed upon in all the meetings that have been held, and that they are not even willing to convene a meeting as was agreed.
“The needs of our community still stand – household electricity, street lights/high mast, flushing toilets and sanitation, roads and water,” he said.
Tlokwe has not given details of why the speaker has refused to place the questions on the agenda for almost 18 months. Neither did it shed light on when service delivery will be rolled out to the affected community.
Mr William Maphosa, the council spokesperson, says the executive mayor responded to most of the issues the Herald raised in the last council meeting, during which the opposition walked out. “However, we shall await the finalisation of the next council meeting to see if they have been included on the agenda,” he said.
