In the wake of the escalating unrests in Ventersdorp, the DA on Tuesday called on the JB Marks mayor to either fix the municipality or resign.
Hans-Jurie Moolman, the DA caucus leader, says the escalating unrest in Ventersdorp poses a threat to vulnerable residents. These residents fear for their safety after service delivery has come to a virtual halt. ‘The Democratic Alliance has written to the executive mayor of JB Marks, Kgotso Khumalo, to take ownership of the ANC’s decision to amalgamate Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp,’ said Moolman.
He further added that ‘the party also calls on the Mayor to supply us with a proper plan to restore peace, calm and stability. We also want to know how the municipality plans to bring proper services to the people. If the Mayor cannot fulfil his mandate, he should resign.’
‘The suffocating effects of the amalgamation of the two municipalities, which the DA warned the failing ANC about, is now coming to haunt the proponents of this idea. There was no proper intervention and the management of council affairs took a turn for the worse as the majority of the residents are faced with extreme unemployment and poverty.’
‘The amalgamation is a poor example of how the failing ANC would do anything to stay in power and an attempt to ensure they win the election here. No proper processes were followed and no proper plans were implemented since 2016. Ventersdorp is now a forgotten town that is remotely controlled from Potchefstroom,’ he said.
Local service delivery has come to a halt
Moolman states that local service delivery has come to a halt and residents are suffering as a result.
‘It is a shame that the 95/5 debt collecting policy (where when one spends R100 on electricity, they get only R5 worth of electricity and the rest goes towards settling the arrears account) is now applied to people who should have been registered to access the indigent grants from the government. The failing ANC’s lack of management and care has resulted in no relief for poor communities.’
‘We are witnessing a visible drop in service delivery levels throughout JB Marks and the impact it has on the willingness of residents to pay their due accounts. The income is necessary to sustain the constitutional mandate of the municipality as a local government to serve and deliver the communities of JB Marks.’
‘Communities are upset about being expected to pay their dues while roads are in a terrible state, sewage is overflowing in their houses, ending up in the Mooiriver. Streetlights are not fixed, public amenities are in terrible state and unexpected water and electricity interruptions are a daily occurrence,’ he said.
Moolman says ‘the executive mayor must tell our communities where the money is that he repeatedly promised to secure from the national and provincial governments to supplement the magic R13 million rand grant that was intended to fund the amalgamation but instead was squandered on a telephone system.’
‘It is now time for the executive mayor and his cadres to own up to their responsibilities or to admit failure and resign. The communities of JB Marks deserve better and only a DA-led government can bring the stability and services we need for economic growth and for creating much-needed jobs,’ he said.
https://www.citizen.co.za/potchefstroom-herald/52261/das-statement-misleading-says-mayoral-spokesperson/
