‘Deliver our services, or else ... ’
A NEWLY-FORMED civic body, the Komani Residents, has threatened to make Komani ungovernable and shut it down if Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM) officials keep on ignoring their service delivery related grievances.
This was a resolution taken at a community meeting convened by the structure on Sunday at the beer hall in Mlungisi. In its efforts to seek intervention, the structure had written to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Fikile Xasa, requesting that EMLM be put under provincial administration. Komani Residents’ secretary Axolile Masiza said the letter was sent to the MEC two weeks ago with a response requested by Friday.
“We only received an acknowledgement that they had received the letter.
“We were hoping to hear from the MEC’s office on Friday, but no reply was received. “Not replying to us by the set date without an explanation means they do not care.”
The civic body’s deputy chairman Loyiso Ngculu said there was a rumour circulating among ANC structures in Mlungisi that the Komani Residents were trying to overthrow the executive mayor, Sisisi Tolashe.
“We had a meeting with the mayor and we told her all our grievances.”
He said the body was, however, not happy with the responses and that while the structure had no political mandate, it was there to ensure the municipality was working to serve its people.
“Young people in Komani are unemployed and it is usually them that families depend upon to ensure there is food on the table. The municipality employs people from outside this district, and they are people who are renting houses in the township and do not pay services. How are we expected to pay services when we are unemployed? The municipality needs to prioritise people from here so they are able to pay the municipality.”
Komani Residents coordinator Bongani Nxoyi said yesterday’s state of the municipality address took place at a venue that was not centrally situated so that communities could attend in numbers. He said this was intentional so as to deter them from attending.
“They could have held it in the township to allow people who do have money to travel to be part of it. This is their way of avoiding answering the burning questions we have,” he said.
”Komani residents and all who want to see this municipality in a better state will attend, no matter where they take the Soma. This municipality needs to be put under administration and we will force it to happen by boycotting service charges. If the municipality decides to cut off our electricity we will take to the streets.”