Siphelele Nketo
MEMBERS of the South African Communist Party (SACP) Thembisile Hani District have given the Harry Gwala District Municipality 14 days to respond to service delivery concerns affecting communities in the district.
This was on Friday, October 2, during a march by party members to the district municipality offices in Ixopo. The SACP demanded immediate repairs of water leakages in parts of the district. The party also called for water monitors to be employed permanently. Among other demands listed in the memorandum was the utilisation of the budget for water and sanitation. The SACP demanded that the budget allocated to communities must be used as enshrined in the IDP.
Reading the memorandum was the SACP’s secretary in the Thembisile Hani District, Nhlanhla Zungu, who called for clarity on why people are not receiving new toilets.
“We also demand answers as to why the municipality sells water to the people and further restricts its usage. There should be consistency in the distribution of water,” said Zungu during the handover of the memorandum.
The memorandum was received by Harry Gwala District Municipality speaker Sibongiseni Mdunge who said that the municipality takes the SACP’s concerns seriously, noting that the district has engaged the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to seek guidance and ensure that all matters are resolved within constitutional prescripts.
He informed the delegation that a rapid response team, led by the office of the speaker, has been established to attend to community concerns and service delivery challenges of this nature, and assured that formal feedback will be provided to the SACP.
