Picture: EFF Leader, Julius Malema embarking on Andries Tatane Cleaning Campaign in Blydeville Township, near Lichtenburg in North West
By REGINALD KANYANE
The residents in Blydeville Township, near Lichtenburg in North West, said service delivery has completely collapsed and the Ditsobotla Local Municipality is careless about that. Gomolemo Melamu (31) there is a lack of water and sanitation in their area.
“The roads are also inaccessible because of potholes. We believe that a campaign like Andries Tatane Cleaning Campaign launched by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will bear fruits.
“We also urge the municipality to ensure that we receive services as poor service delivery has a negative impact in our lives. So, we are happy to see the EFF leader, Julius Malema here assisting us with cleaning our township,” Melamu said.
EFF leader Julius Malema visited the area on 25 February 2023 as part of service delivery. Malema said, it is sad to see people living in squalor like this, while there is the government in charge.
“It was embarrassing to see the North West Premier, Bushy Maape implying that the province has no service delivery challenges during the State of the Nation (SONA) debate in parliament last week, which sparked public outrage.
“Maape has turned the challenges of the residents of the North West into a mockery. I saw a lot of potholes on my way here. There is no way that any person who is alive to the realities of the North West, would have uttered what Maape did,” he said.
Malema further said he just wondered if Maape had taken his medication before he spoke at the SONA debate. He added that was an embarrassment and he should have not been allowed to enter the Office of the Premier after his utterances.
Malema said there is no single person, even a factionalist of note, who should be defending the Premier of North West after what he did. Malema said leaders should first have to accept that there is a problem in order to come up with solutions for dealing with that problem.
“If we are going to be in denial that there is no problem in the North West, we will never look for solutions. I was shocked to see the Premier of the North West sitting throughout the SONA debate, while other Premiers come in the morning when it is their turn to debate because they will be seized with the problems of their provinces.
“But, because the problems of this province do not bother him, he saw this as a touring opportunity. Maape spoke like a person who just came from the sea and aloof from the reality of the North West,” said Malema.
Meanwhile, Maape who delivered his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on 24 February 2023 said, his government has marked the 2023 financial year, as the ‘year of service delivery.’
The Guardian 