Westenburg Police came to the rescue of a woman on Friday when angry Extension 78 residents wanted to beat her up on suspicion that she had been hired by Ward 8 Councillor, Tebogo Mojapelo to work on a water project in the ward.
Residents were up in arms demanding that Mojapelo, who is on bail on a corruption charge relating to the alleged sale of jobs follow the right protocol to hire labourers. Rowdy residents who gathered in an open field early morning alleged that Mojapelo hired friends and relatives instead of using the proper system to do so. One of the residents indicated that Mojapelo hired people close to her and that they wanted these people to stop working and instead allow 15 people picked to work as per the community’s agreement.
At one point a difference in opinion among residents nearly led to chaos as the crowd threatened to beat the woman. Westenburg Police’s quick response saved her from the angry mob. The woman in question is allegedly among those hired by Mojapelo without adhering to the correct procedure.
Maggie Thaba, who spoke on behalf of the Project Steering Committee outlined that various committees were not alerted when the contractor was hiring, hence persons from other sections missed the opportunity and reiterated that they want those who picked the right cards to work and those who were brought by Mojapelo to get fired.
It was reported that residents used lucky draw kind of a system where ‘yes and no’ cards are put in a bowl for residents to pick and whoever picks a ‘yes’ card from the bowl is hired.
Mojapelo had a brief discussion with the Police, contractor and members of the Project Steering Committee before she was allowed to address residents. Addressing the crowd, Mojapelo did agree that there was a communication breakdown and apologised to residents. “You can say what you want, but you should remember that I am innocent until proven guilty by a court of law,” she reminded.
After engagement with Mojapelo and members of the committee, the matter was resolved and residents who picked the right cards started working immediately after the gathering. It was also agreed that those who were hired by Mojapelo should be placed in various areas in ward 8 but were not allowed to work at Extension 78.
Story & photos: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
