MOKOPANE – NYALA’S and seven other police vehicles blocked Mmusi Maimane’s path to the Mogalakwena municipal offices on Tuesday afternoon.
Maimane said in a statement that the police proceeded to unravel barbed wire, preventing him from meeting with the municipal manager and other officials to convey the demands of the community.
“One can only conclude that the police were acting under the instruction of warring ANC factions that have previously sent the police to remove municipal officials from their offices and assault proportional representative councillors. Mogalakwena is ground zero for the abuse of power in South Africa, and it starts at the top.
“Having walked the streets of the community with residents, I witnessed first-hand the non-existent service delivery in the area – from leaking sewage and dry taps to rubbish in the streets. Where are the riot police to defend them from this abuse of power?”
Maimane lashed out against the “cowboy tactics” of the police that prevented him from fulfilling his oversight duties as a member of parliament. “Their behaviour has prevented me from addressing the serious concerns of Mogalakwena residents.
“The use of police in Mogalakwena for political thuggery is unacceptable. This is what happens on the ground in communities when the powerful set the wrong example at the top. The DA will not leave this incident here.”
He said the DA would take steps against the lawlessness at play in this municipality. “This is what we mean when we say power to the people. Seeing this abuse of power today, it is clear that the playing fields are not level between residents and the powerful. It is time that the people of Mogalakwena take back that power by voting differently come the 2016 local government elections.”
Col Ronél Otto, Limpopo police spokesperson, said the reason that the police did not let Maimane into the premises was because they could not allow 150 people to enter the municipal premises at a time. She said they only allowed a maximum of five people to enter the municipal grounds and this was not acceptable to Maimane and the other DA officials.
