Residents demand service delivery
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Lucky Kubheka, of Ubuntu bo Muntu Community Initiative, said that people have been voting for years yet they were still living in shacks as the houses that they have applied for many years ago are nowhere to be found.
VEREENIGING.- The Ubuntu bo Muntu Community Initiative, along with several partners gathered in Vereeniging for a peaceful march to Sedibeng District Municipaliy (SDM) offices to demand service delivery, last Wednesday.
The march was also joined by the members of Build One South Africa (BOSA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Tau tsa Savannah, Phakama Uthethe Land and Reform, Khulumani Support Group, Gabola Church, Community Solidarity Association, the South African
Royal Kingdoms Organisation (SARKO) and pastors from different churches.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Lucky Kubheka, of Ubuntu bo Muntu Community Initiative, said that people have been voting for years yet they were still living in shacks as the houses that they have applied for many years ago are nowhere to be found.
“There is corruption (everywhere), and we, as Ubuntu, need that to be addressed. Ubuntu bo Muntu Community Initiative yearns to bring peace, harmony, and understanding to promote social cohesion and moral regeneration.”
Khubheka said that their aim is to enlighten communities on how to stand (up) for themselves, both in terms of land and human settlement. The march was attended by community members from across the Vaal. Some of the community members said that they have documents, including ‘happy letters’ and approval letters that prove that they have been waiting for houses for “decades”. One of the aims of the march was also to raise concerns about poor service delivery around Vaal. Community members from Sharpeville Phase 4 stated that four to six families use one toilet and that they have a truck that comes only once to collect and clean the toilets twice a week. They said that they are worried about getting sick because of the situation.
Idan Msimango, a resident of Boitumelo in Sebokeng, said: “I stay with my disabled child and I registered for a house in 2004, but until
today, I live in a shack renting in someone’s yard, yet I have been voting. This whole situation has made me lose faith in the government. I filled out a subsidy in 2019, and when I go to the housing department, they tell me that the budget is not out yet. I am depending on grant money to survive.”
Meanwhile, Kubheka stated that they are working on finding a bank that will work with them to help the residents of Vaal with their issues. The memorandum was accepted by the SDM Executive Mayor, Lerato Maloka, who promised to give them feedback after seven working days.
