By OBAKENG MAJE
24 December 2024- The community of Christiana said poor service delivery in their area is one of the contributing factors to ongoing socio-economic challenges they are subjected to. The community members embarked on a peaceful march and handed over their memorandum of demand to the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality on Monday.
According to one of the community leaders, Matshidiso Yanda, they have been confronted with continuous lack of basic needs and this forced the community to bear the brunt. Yanda said most of their community members live beyond the poverty line and lack of service delivery worsen the situation.
“As the concerned community members, we demand urgent improvement of basic services. We, the undersigned members of the community, submit this memorandum to express our deep concerns and dissatisfaction with the inadequate provision of essential services, particularly water and electricity within our community.
“These shortcomings have caused significant hardships, disrupted livelihoods, and undermined our basic human rights as enshrined in the constitution of South Africa,” she said.
Yanda further said the key issues are irregular water supply, frequent water cuts without prior notice. She added that there are allegations that, municipality provides poor water quality with reports of contamination.
“Inadequate maintenance of water infrastructure also leads to leaks and wastage of water. Another challenge is an unreliable electricity supply, regular power outages in Geluksoord and all its sections beyond the national load-shedding schedule,” said Yanda.
She said there is a failure to repair or upgrade aging electrical infrastructure and demand water services. Yanda said they demand immediate implementation of a reliable water supply schedule to ensure residents have access to water daily.
“Conduct routine quality testing of water to ensure compliance with health standards. Repair and upgrade water infrastructure to ensure compliance with sufficient supply.
“The municipality should expedite the full restoration and function of electricity in all sections of Geluksoord without any interruption. Ensure repairs and maintenance of electrical infrastructure outages,” she said.
Yanda said they demand a candid and honest report as to what is the impediment in the efficient supply of electricity in the above-mentioned sections. She urged the municipality to host regular community meetings to update residents on progress and plans regarding service delivery.
“Establish a dedicated hotline for reporting and resolving service issues promptly. Publish detailed reports on the municipal budget allocated for water and electricity.
“We request that the municipality provide a detailed response to this memorandum including a concrete action plan within a space of three days. Failure to address our concerns will leave us with no choice, but to escalate this matter through lawful and peaceful means,” she said.
Yanda said access to clean water and electricity is not a privilege, but a basic right. She urged the municipality to act with urgency and responsibility to restore these essential services and uphold the dignity of their community.
Meanwhile, a Manager of Community Services at Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality, Serame Lesie said: “We have accepted and acknowledged the memorandum of the community. Indeed, we will respond accordingly in three day- time.”
The Guardian 