POLOKWANE – Nkadimeng met with Westenburg residents on 30 July, following service delivery protests by the community who said they were fed up with the lack of service delivery in Westenburg and the municipality’s empty promises.
During the three-day protest, residents blocked Ben Harris Street in Westenburg and the Matlala Road along Westenburg with burning tyres and rocks, refusing to let vehicles enter or leave Westenburg.
Read more: [WATCH] Live scenes from the Westenburg protest
Among the demands listed in the memorandum was fixing the public swimming pool, which has not been operational for several years, as well as renovations to the parks and sport stadium.
During the meeting, Nkadimeng promised to send a delegation with members of the WCDF to do an assessment of the swimming pool, parks and sport grounds.
A task team led by the mayor’s office and officials from relevant departments within the municipality met with members of the WCDF on Friday, 7 September and visited the parks, swimming pool and sport grounds.
You might also want to read: ‘Release our leaders before negotiating’ say Westenburg residents
They made various observations and identified what work needed to be done at the facilities. A full report still needs to be compiled.
Ray Goulkan, WCDF Chairperson, said they are still waiting for the municipality to give feedback on what will be done after their findings during Friday’s inspection.
Municipal Spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, said they are hopeful that through this engagement, the issues will be addressed to the benefit of the community.
“This intervention programme by the mayor is not unique to the Westenburg community. It has worked in other areas where the community has raised issues with her and the office. The municipality has an open door policy and encourages engagement on service delivery issues by the community. The municipality, through the stewardship of the mayor, strives to improve its service delivery output despite limited resources to do so,” Mothapo explained.
On the other matters listed in the memorandum, Mothapo said: “The mayor’s office refers, in writing, all other services that are not the responsibility of the municipality to the relevant sectoral departments and, where possible, facilitate meetings between the community and the department”.
