City of Tshwane accused of sabotaging citizen-led initiatives

Government must realise it is part of society and doesn’t dominate society, is the clear message to the city of Tshwane which wants to block AfriForum’s help with service delivery issues.

“It should allow communities, including businesses, to assist with delivering public goods – and that includes helping where the state is clearly failing,” said Cilliers Brink, the leader of the DA and former mayor of Tshwane.

“When we and our coalition partners were in power, we established a community upliftment project where folks could sign an agreement with the municipality to fix street lights, to look after parks, to do the things that the city under financial distress struggles to do.

“These community upliftment projects are a good thing, it’s good for property values which is good for the municipality because it means that our resources can stretch further,” he added.

Cooperation agreement

Brink said his coalition joined hands with initiatives such as the Moot Project and concluded a cooperation agreement with AfriForum for grass cutting.

“Inevitably government and these organisations will tussle on a few things, but sign cooperation agreements and work together and create rules to govern the relationship,” he said.

AfriForum district coordinator for the Greater Pretoria South region Arno Roodt said AfriForum will continue with their community projects across Pretoria.

City accused of undermining public participation

“The city has placed itself in opposition to its own residents – specifically those who step in where the city fails in its duties.

“We see this time and time again, where residents and AfriForum put their shoulder to the wheel to address the city’s issues themselves, and action is taken against them rather than working with them,” he said.

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“Section 152(1)(e) of the constitution places a duty on municipalities to promote community participation, not to hinder it. It is not a choice or a favour – it is a constitutional requirement.

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“When a city not only fails to deliver a service but also tries to punish those who want to help, we are undermining the entire concept of local government. And this cannot be left unchallenged.

“How many times has Tshwane tried to stop us? Several times.”

Roodt said community projects have been unnecessarily delayed or thwarted and, in some cases, volunteers and action teams have been stopped by metro police, fined and threatened with arrest for contravention of municipal bylaws or working on municipal property without permission “when they were simply clearing sidewalks, repairing potholes and cleaning stormwater drains”.

Political coalition blamed for sabotage

Freedom Front Plus’ Grandi Theunissen slammed the current ANC-EFF-ActionSA coalition in charge of the capital, accusing them of sabotaging community self-reliance.

“Instead of embracing this spirit of Ubuntu and shared responsibility, the ruling coalition responds with political spite, legal intimidation and punitive policies.

“Let’s call it what it is: a governing bloc that fears accountability, resents initiative and punishes excellence.

“We call on the Tshwane council and national departments to abandon this destructive posture and instead codify supportive frameworks for community-led service delivery,” he said.

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