ANC and DA march against each other
“Last year it was revealed that R872 million had been lost by the municipality through corruption and fraud alone. The ANC is notorious for continuously protecting their own from accountability or prosecution when they have betrayed the trust of the people.”
SEDIBENG. – A political comedy took place when the African National Congress (ANC) Midvaal Zone/Sub-Region marched to the Midvaal Local Municipality in Meyerton and in return the Democratic Alliance (DA) members marched to the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) office in Vanderbijlpark on Friday.
The ANC said that it mrched because it had noted with serious concern the crop of corruption and the shenanigans happening in the DA led Midvaal Local Municipality and that the community of Midvaal continues to suffer these injustices with its innate lack of accountability by both management and political leadership in the DA municipality. “We want to put it clearly that the manner in which the Mayor, Mr Bongani Baloyi, conducts himself, leaves much to be desired. The Mayor has no respect for this community. He has never, in any gathering, swallowed his pride and availed himself to receive our grievances. Baloyi must be warned that this conduct is tantamount to an insult to the community that continues to pay for services. He cannot claim to be the people’s Mayor when he is unable to face the people.”
Amongst the list of grievances and demands made by the ANC were that:
- The recent suspension of Thom Peeters, the Deputy Municipal Manager, is not enough and that
Peeters must resign and go back and account to Ekurhuleni where “he messed up”.
- That the recent suspension of Albert de Klerk, the Municipal Manager, is not enough. That Albert de Klerk must resign, and “we do not need racists in our municipalities”.
- That the recent suspension of MMC Tsukudu, MMC for Corporates is not enough. “She has been witnessing and protecting corruption happening in her department. She must resign”. The ANC said that service delivery must be prioritised to townships where the majority of the marginalised and the poor reside.
“We still have a street named “Kaffir Street” in Ward 11 and we demand that, the abovementioned street must be removed and due process of street renaming should follow ASAP. In conclusion, we the ANC, in support of the people of Midvaal promise to continue with the roll-out of mass action if the stated demands are not going to be taken seriously because we know the tendency of the municipality to undermine the people.” The ANC gave Midvaal Local Municipality fourteen working days to respond to their demands.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance (DA) march on Friday was led by DA Gauteng Premier Candidate Solly Msimanga. The DA said that it was also demanding better service delivery from the ELM.
“Service delivery in Emfuleni has completely collapsed under the ANC, poor services or no services at all have been rendered to the people of Emfuleni for the past eight months. Refuse has not been collected, potholes have not been fixed, and sewage runs unattended in the streets. Emergency Service vehicles sometimes cannot go out due to a lack of fuel.”
The DA said that recently 70 homes were damaged and 13 families were left homeless because storm water drains were not maintained. “Last year it was revealed that R872 million had been lost by the municipality through corruption and fraud alone. The ANC is notorious for continuously protecting their own from accountability or prosecution when they have betrayed the trust of the people.” The DA demanded better service delivery for the people of Emfuleni and said that those responsible for the collapse of ELM should be held accountable
