MOKOPANE – ABOUT 1 500 residents of the Mzombane community and surrounding villages was escorted by the Mahwelereng police and traffic officers on Tuesday in a march to handover a memorandum of demands and concerns to the chief of Mokopane.
It was a peaceful march that started in the Mzombane village and ended at the Mokopane traditional council to hand over the memorandum to Lesiba Kekana, the chief of the village.
“Unfortunately on arrival the offices were closed and we could not hand over the memorandum to Kekana,” said Johannes Pato, vice secretary of the Mzombane village committee.
The memorandum stated the following demands and concerns:
• Chief Kekana is depriving the community of basic human needs, which according to our constitution is wrong.
• We demand that chief Kekana council the court order that is binding the municipality to provide permanent services to the Mzombane community.
• We demand that you withdraw as chief of Mokopane.
• We demand that you stop making decisions concerning us without the proper mandate.
• Chief Kekana you have oppressed us enough is enough.
• Chief Kekana we know that you have sold our community out to Ivanplats.
• Chief Kekana you earn R36 000 a month from Ivanplats which means you can't serve the interest of the community. As a trustee you are serving in the interest of Ivanplats.
• Mzombane is called Mzombane and it can't be renamed to Kgobudi 2 without the mandate of the community at large.
• Stop being the cause for division between the communities of Mokopane by means of appointing your own committee that causes crisis and confusion between members.
• According to the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act (IPILRA) you do not have the power to take decisions regarding any development on the communal land.
• According to the IPILRA 10% on BBEEE is interfiled. To direct the remaining 16% is negotiable to affected and interested communities.
• According to the IPILRA your mandate is to implement the decision of the community or co-owners of the communal land.
• We ask that you inform your headman about the IPILRA and that the constitution and protocols of the land are followed.
• ANC it is your responsibility to push your official Kekana to formalise Mzombane or else forget about our votes in the 2016 local elections as we are going to vote for the opposition parties that is willing to help us, for instance the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
• Please excuse yourself from mining decisions, we know that you are driving expensive cars with the communities' benefits from Ivanplats.
• You cant exclude Mzombane and affected communities in signing a 30 year lease agreement.
• We demand that Mzombane village should be formalised within seven days of receiving this memorandum.
“As we were unable to hand over the memorandum to chief Kekana, we asked for advice regarding the matter from the department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) on Tuesday,” said Pato.
“We told them that they should give us 14 days to investigate the matter with the traditional council, as we are not allowed to interfere without the proper mandate from the head office,” said one of the officials at CoGHSTA, who did not want to be named.
Bosveld could not get hold of chief Kekana for comment.
