MANKWENG – A long meeting between residents and Polokwane mayor Thembi Nkadimeng was put on hold yesterday (Wednesday) when a resident demanded the release of two men who were arrested earlier on in the week for public violence.
At the time of going to print, Nkadimeng was behind closed doors with Maj Genl Joseph Maepa, head of the police in the Polokwane cluster, reportedly negotiating the released.
These meetings took place with rioting that flared up again on Monday, continuing on the R71 at Mankweng.
Two men were arrested for public violence and were due to appear before the Mankweng magistrate’s court soon.
Earlier on in the public meeting, Nkadimeng apologised to residents for the delay in service delivery.
She said she wanted all problems to be solved, and she would send valuers to do property assessments, so that those whose properties were valued at over R100 000 would have to pay rates.
“I don’t want to see Mankweng on fire again like there is no municipality. We have requested R91 million from the Development Bank of South Africa for an electrification project so that all households that are still in the dark are electrified.
“I agree that we didn’t treat you well, but there is no insolvency. We have to meet each and every month and the communication breakdown should come to an end today,” Nkadimeng told residents, some of who still appeared to be very angry.
One of the residents, Tjatji Mehlape, told Nkadimeng she was failing and it would be better for the Mankweng cluster to get its own municipality.
“We are sick and tired of (mayor) Nkadimeng’s empty promises. We need action, not empty promises,” he said.
Prior to the meeting, community task team deputy chairperson, Alfred Phasha said meetings with the mayor had borne no fruit.
“How can we behave normally in an abnormal society?
“We are still waiting for the municipality to come and discuss the way forward. If they want another Marikana, they will get it,” Phasha said.
He said the task team had been created to address the municipal problems in Mankweng with the municipality, but had had nothing to report to the community as “nothing was done and nothing happened since the meeting with the mayor at the end of August”.
Phasha accused the municipality of showing a “lazy, irresponsible and negligent” attitude towards Mankweng.
Chairperson of the community task team, Makama Malebana told Review earlier this week that they would not budge on their demand to see all Mankweng residents’ water bills being written off by the municipality so that residents could “start off fresh”.
Municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene, spoke to Review from the scene of the riot earlier this week. She said the municipality was trying to find out who was behind the renewed violence and why it was happening so that future rioting could be prevented before it got out of hand.
