By BAKANG MOKOTO

Pupils from Cokonyane village in Taung and surrounding areas were left stranded after irate residents embarked on protest demanding the provision of water. 

Residents allegedly burnt interim Jojo tanks that were meant to assist them with water shortages. According to some of the residents, it’s been over a year since they experienced the scourge of water shortages and they believe that ‘the use of tankering system benefits only connected few.’ 

One of the community leaders, Tshepo Kalamore said they embarked on a protest because the government is ignoring their call. He said they tried to engage various stakeholders such as the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District municipality and Sedibeng Water which is a service provider, but they have been sent from pillar to post.

“It is high time that the government takes us seriously. We cannot continue to live without the provision of water. Water is a basic need and it’s been over a year since we received quality water. Taps are dry and rusty, and we should pretend as if everything is normal?

“We do not want to prevent pupils to go to school, but we have no choice. We believe that injury to one is an injury to all. So, the status quo will remain until we get water,” Kalamore said.

Some pupils said the protest affected them because they lost two days of teaching and learning. However, the North West Education Department spokesperson, Elias Malindi said they condemn the use of school children by residents during protests.

 “Yes, we are aware of the matter and call on residents to stop preventing pupils from going to school. Protests affect our progress because learners are missing out on teaching and learning. So, we urge our residents to refrain from that and raise their challenges through relevant channels. The department has a recovery plan, which we will roll out as soon as learners go back to school,” said Malindi.

North West province continues to experience service delivery protests. A month ago, angry residents from Austrey near Ganyesa allegedly destroyed the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality offices a month ago, while demanding the construction of a tarred road on the road that links Ganyesa and Austrey.  

However, North West Premier, Prof Job Mokgoro said during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) last week that a review of monthly unrest statistics from the South African Police Service (SAPS) reveals a steady decline in violent protests in the province since the start of the intervention, with only six unrest incidents recorded in the province last month.

“This compares very favourably with statistics for January 2019, in which 26 unrest incidents were recorded and reflect a 15 fold decrease since the violence of April 2018 when police recorded 91 unrest incidents. The data shows that we are making significant progress towards becoming a stable and peaceful province, through our collective efforts.

“Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District is an important strategic agricultural area for the North West Province and has negatively been impacted by drought which threatens many people’s livelihoods,” Mokgoro said.

He added that in an effort to minimize the scourge of drought and general water shortage, they will build government borehole sighting, drilling and reticulation capacity aimed mainly at livestock watering provision with a further potential to assist with human drinking water where necessary.

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

Seven out of ten North West MECs will visit Ganyesa village, near Vryburg on Tuesday to address service delivery challenges. The rapid response team will be led by the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs department (Coghta), Gordon Kegakilwe.

This comes after the community of Austry embarked on service delivery protests early this year, demanding a tarred road between Austry and Moshwana villages. The teaching and learning process was disrupted as irked residents embarked on violent protests and destroyed the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality offices and vehicles.

One of the residents, Norman Moncho told Taung DailyNews that they were ‘gnashing their teeth’ because of empty promises. Moncho added that they had aired their dissatisfactions many times, but nothing was done.

Meanwhile, ‘The Fire Extinguisher’ as Kegakilwe is affectionately known in the political arena, said the team will be made up of MECs for Education, Maphefo Matsemela, Public Works and Roads, Oageng Molapisi, Health, Madoda Sambatha, Agriculture and Rural Development, Desbo Mohono, Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, Kenetswe Mosenogi, and Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari.

“As part of playing oversight on municipalities, we recently met with mayors, municipal managers and administrators in the province to discuss the performance of municipalities.

“We requested municipalities to put systems in place to deal with corruption, use public money for what it is intended for and at the same time, be transparent on how they money is used,” he said.

Kegakilwe further said officials must ensure that they do things by the book. He added that they should be transparent as to how they use public resources.

“Municipal Managers are accounting officers and must, therefore, make sure their municipalities move in the right direction. The department is responsible for the performance of municipalities and if things do not go well at this sphere of government, the blame goes to the department. We are judged on the performance of municipalities’’, Kegakilwe said.

According to Kegakilwe, the performance of municipalities has declined since 2016 and the last Auditor General’s report indicates that no municipality in the province received an unqualified report. He also appealed to councillors to differentiate between party politics and government.

“Mayors must be able to serve all communities irrespective of their political affiliation. We must be effective, rational and be committed to working for our people,” he said.

The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) in the province said it was deeply disturbed by the scenes of violence and no services delivered at the municipality. ANCWL acting provincial secretary, Bitsa Lenkopane said the league was shocked by the unstable situation where some residents have literally seized control of the municipality and denied the majority of the people of Kagisano-Molopo access to municipal offices.

“The seizure of control goes deeper to the municipal purse where business opportunities are skewed. In a letter to the ANC, the community and branches of the party complained about no service delivery, continuous instability at the municipality and much litigation faced by the municipality, while eating out of the same public purse that should be delivering them services.

“The league has also been receiving complaints in this regard, mainly from women who feel they were left as victims and casualties of these activities as they are robbed of basic needs and empowerment to improve their livelihoods, with threats to their physical security,” Lenkopane said.

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