Admin
13 May, 2018
North West under administration, but the provincial system itself is flawed
Media release by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP and UDM President Some might consider President Cyril Ramaphosa’s taking control of North West a good move and believe that it will sort out the administrative and management quagmire it finds itself in. Whilst we appreciate the sentiment that prompted this move, it remains to be seen if it will eradicate institutionalised corruption in the North West. The unabated looting of state resources in this province have brought it to its knees, but one wonders whether, when national government steps in, this will not be a case of the wolf looking after the sheep. To sum up the situation, our people take to the streets daily, protesting the lack of service delivery, whether it be in the townships, rural areas or in the cities. We can no longer afford to fold our arms whilst South Africa is quite literally burning. Clearly the president has in fact used this constitutional provision in an attempt to sort out political problems within his party and it has nothing to do with a rescue mission. Given the exploitation of state funds, in all nine provinces, it makes sense to put the whole caboodle under administration. However, part of the problem is that the system in itself is flawed and have created nothing more but glorified homelands where racism and the fires of ethnicity are fanned. Do we really need these glorified homelands? We should rather strengthen the local sphere of government and let national government supervise. This piecemeal intervention by the president is simply not good enough to save South Africa from the slippery slope we find ourselves on due to the years’ long maladministration of the ruling party.
Admin
15 Jul, 2015
Bantu Holomisa writes to President Zuma re sorry state of Moretele Local Municipality in urgent need of Government’s attention
Dear Honourable President, RE: SORRY STATE OF MORETELE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN URGENT NEED OF GOVERNMENT’S ATTENTION The above mentioned matter has reference. A few weeks ago, I was invited to a community meeting by the Concerned Residents of Moretele Local Municipality in North West Province. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and find solutions to the challenges facing their Municipality. In addition to the meeting, the Community had also planned a march on 26 June 2015 to the Municipal Offices to deliver a Memorandum of Complaints to the Mayor. Both events took place, and were a huge success. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I could not attend these events. Mrs Thandi Nontenja, our National Treasurer, represented the UDM at these events. After receiving a Report from Mrs Nontenja about her visit to Moretele Local Municipality, I felt obligated to write you this letter in order to bring to your attention the challenges besetting Moretele Local Municipality. Below is a summary of the residents’ complaints. For more details, please consult the attached Memorandum. 1. Poor Leadership and Corruption The residents complained about poor leadership and bad management at the Municipality. They accused the leadership of failing to attend meetings and of failing to fulfil their service delivery promises and mandates. They also alleged that some of the senior leaders of the Municipality are involved in corrupt activities. For details, please see attached Memorandum. 2. Water and Sanitation It was with a great deal of shock to hear that about 56 Moretele villages have no access to clean running water and sanitation. These villagers still use pit toilets and have to walk long distances to fetch water from nearby rivers. It beggars belief that more than 20 years into our democracy there are still people, who live in such conditions. This is a serious violation of our people’s basic human rights, as access to clean water and sanitation are fundamental human rights that are essential for life and human dignity. We call on your Government to urgently look into this matter. In so doing, kindly also look into the millions of Rands that the residents claim were spent on the water reservoirs that were either never used or have never worked. 3. Public Works Programmes and Road Infrastructure The residents complained bitterly about the poor management of the Public Works Programmes in North West. They have apparently made numerous requests to the Provincial PWP leadership to discuss the poor state of their road infrastructure, but all their efforts have come to naught. Their roads infrastructure is so poor to the point where most of their roads are impassable. This, needless to say, disconnects these communities from important economic hubs in the Province. As already indicated above, this is a summary of some of the key issues that were raised by the residents of Moretele during their engagements with Mrs Nontenja. For more details, please see attached Memorandum of Complaints. Feel to contact person Thubakgalo at 072 832 0233 should you require more information. We call on your Office to urgently look into the sorry state of this Municipality. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Bantu Holomisa, MP UDM President
