Residents say public participation meetings bring about no change

AMID serious service delivery challenges regarding the supply of water and electricity and the building of roads, people living in the Mopani area were requested to attend public participation meetings to raise their concerns.

Mopani mayor, Joshua Matlou, told residents that the issues they had raised during these meetings would be listed in the Integrated Development Programme (IDP) document and would be addressed in the next few financial years.

He explained that, in the coming financial year, the municipality would address only the needs that were listed in the current IDP document.

“This public participation serves as a guideline for us on how we can improve service delivery to our communities,” Matlou said.

He said some of the basic services would be addressed in joint projects with other departments.

Masilo Ramalekana, a resident of Ga-Kgapane, said even though they had attended many public participation meetings with the aim of ensuring their lives would be improved, no improvement had been made and the serious shortage of water that the higher lying villages were experiencing continued.

Public participation meetings were also scheduled for the Greater Tzaneen, Maruleng, Greater Giyani and Ba-Phalaborwa municipalities.