Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Hans-Jurie Moolman
The DA has taken note of the current service delivery protests in JB Marks that shut down various communities in our city.
These service delivery protests are understood to be a follow-up to a previous and peaceful march to the municipal offices early in July, during which a memorandum of grievances was handed over to the municipality.
The grievances were repeatedly raised by DA councillors but were either outvoted or cast aside by the Speaker. To date, the memorandum has not been tabled in the municipal council. Instead, the recipient of the memorandum chose a clandestine approach and withheld this information from the municipal council to allow the duly elected governors of the city to try and address the issues that were raised.
The clandestine approach has now resulted in a situation where residents have to take to the streets in an effort to be heard and to have their issues considered. This huge disruption could have been avoided if the matter were entrusted to the persons that our city has elected to provide direction and to try and find solutions for their grievances. Some of the major concerns are:
- The rising ESKOM debt of the municipality,
- The increase in tariffs and additional charges for electricity seriously and adversely affects poor communities.
- The merger of the former Tlokwe and Ventersdorp Municipalities that has been a destructive force, destroying the municipality’s ability to provide basic services.
The DA calls on the Executive Mayor and the Speaker of the Municipal Council to convene an urgent Special Council Meeting to table the memorandum and to allow the collective of the municipal council to deliberate and find solutions.
The DA believes in the importance of public participation in decision-making processes and in governments that are responsive to the needs and concerns of the community. Those who have received the memorandum and failed to respond must take full responsibility for the disruption of the public protest action that was preceded by a peaceful march.
To restore our city to its status as a City of Excellence, it will require that we take our community and its elected leaders seriously and ensure that issues are addressed before it becomes necessary for members of our community to go to extreme and disruptive measures to have their voices heard. After all, that is the essence of accountable leadership.