SEKHUKHUNE – More than 40 pensioners from Leeukraal joined the Congress of the People (COPE) on Sunday March 3.
The pensioners vowed to support the party in the upcoming elections and to attend its upcoming manifesto launch in the Free State this Saturday.
COPE’s Sekhukhune chairman, Mr Lucas Selahle told Steelburger/Lydenburg News his party welcomed the new members with open arms.
“We did our research on this poor community and we discovered that it was one of the villages abandoned by the government. We want to ensure that local schools improve from the dire state they are in and also develop their roads, it is saddening to see the majority of youths are facing a bleak future,” Selahle said.
Ms Maggie Makgalagana, one of the newly members, said she believed the party would deliver for her village.
“We are tired of corrupt leaders and we want change, for 20 years we had been lacking basic needs like water and roads. Our schools are also in a bad state but after COPE’s visit we can also look forward to a better life”, she said.
Meanwhile the party’s Sekhukhune region also held a door-to-door election campaigns at the Mohlaletsi and Tswereng villages on March 1.
The two villages are plagued by lack of service delivery and children face the risk of contracting diseases from sewerage and heaps of garbage. Donkeys are used as a source of transport for water and goods.
COPE’s Tubase subregion secretary, Mr Lekhele Moraba, confirmed to this reporter that their campaign went well.
“The two villages are left behind in terms of service delivery, its clear that their municipality (Makhuduthamaga) is enriching itself with state resources. It’s time they vote for COPE, so that their lives can change for the better,” he said.
Moraba added his party had won many followers in their campaigns and they would continue to support them in future.
