A fiery meeting involving the executive mayor of Matjhabeng, prominent business owners, and residents took place on Tuesday (23/05) in Welkom.
Emotions ran high and the mayor, Thanduxolo Khalipha, was taken to book and accused of incompetence and not being able to control his municipality.
Various issues were on the agenda including service delivery, water issues, roaming cattle, the budget and tariffs, building regulations, policy and bylaws, as well as outstanding creditors.
The real issues on the table were water and electricity, and the highly charged issue of unlawful gating of streets in some suburbs around Welkom.
Over the past two weeks various gates, pillars and posts have been forcefully removed from these communities.
Vista cited recently that the erection of these gates was in contravention of the municipal bylaws.
Residents were emotional and confrontational on this issue and accused officials of having been barbaric and violent in their removal of the structures.
Residents were also critical that alleged illegal businesses and structures exist around Welkom, but no action is taken against these people.
Khalipha responded to the aggrieved residents and gave them an undertaking to provide a written response regarding the gates within a week. A resident and business committee of six has been convened to negotiate with the mayor on certain issues.
One of the major bones of contention, however, was water shortages, or the total lack of water in some areas. Burst pipes and sewage also topped the list of complaints.
After one emotional outburst, Khalipha said that he does not accept the attitude of some of the people in the meeting.
“I know that you are angry, but I ask for respect,” he said.
Khalipha then asked Thabo Panyane, financial manager of Matjhabeng, to read aloud a letter that the mayor had penned to the national minister of water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu.
The letter was conclusive and direct. In it, Khalipha demanded answers about Bloem Water’s incompetence and deliberate acts of frustration in delivering water to a beleaguered Matjhabeng.
Khalipha said the entity is not being honest about how the water it distributes is processed, the situation with the pumps and motors, and Matjhabeng’s payment rate.
This situation has led to the towns Riebeeckstad, Hennenman and Ventersburg being without water for eleven weeks.
He added it was Bloem Water’s suggestion to distribute the demand for water across numerous sources to solve the problem, but are not meeting demands. Khalipha states Matjhabeng has been adhering to the payment agreement with the waterboard.
In the letter, Khalipha states the human rights of residents are not being adhered to.
“The Wards are threatening to stop paying. This will collapse the municipality. I have demanded that Mchunu puts Bloem Water on terms,” Khalipha said.
Major repairs to Matjhabeng’s pipelines, sanitation and water treatment systems are being implemented.
“R2,4 billion has been granted to fix Matjhabeng’s infrastructure,” Khalipha explained.
