The DA in Polokwane will submit written questions to the Speaker of the Polokwane council regarding serious concerns of residents of ward 40.
During a recent oversight by the DA to Ward 40, which includes Matlapa and surrounding areas Mashashane and Doornfontein, the following issues were raised by the residents:
- The condition of gravel roads are in a shocking state and in particular the entrance road to the cemetery, which is inaccessible and residents have to use an alternate route. The lack of maintenance and upkeep of the Matlapa cemetery is a further concern to many residents. (See photos here, here and here)
- The lack of daily access to clean drinking water. According to residents, the municipal water tanker only comes once a month and residents are limited to 100lt (4 X 25lt buckets) water per household. The current boreholes do not supply sufficient water to the water tank in the area and no sustainable plan has been made to meet the water demands of the residents;
- The residents are pleading with the municipality to prioritise with Eskom to provide electricity.
Residents of ward 40 were excluded in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process during April 2022 and could not voice their concerns about the lack of services and funds allocated to their ward.
There are concerns that the ANC Ward councillor is not communicating with them on public participation processes and other service delivery issues resulting in the denial of residents to actively participate in decisions that affect them directly.
It is clear that these are forgotten communities despite COGHSTA’s undertaking to optimise their performance and spread resources to address the needs of communities they serve when Aganang local municipality was de-established in 2016.
The ANC governed Polokwane municipality does not care about our rural communities and the DA will continue to highlight the plight of residents who are forgotten and ignored.