Wandile Manyinyi writes:

An entrepreneur who wanted to apply and reopen a petrol station in Ilinge, is fed up and withdrawing his plans, due to struggling with the area’s ward councillor.

Businessman Wandile Manyinyi said his attempt to have the community meeting by the councillor, Mzwandile Thobe, failed. The proposal to reopen the petrol station in Ilinge was made in October 2018.

On February 5 2019, the councillor visited me and told me he is not going to organise the community meeting; I must organise it myself – or else deal with his junior structures, the ward committee. I felt this is a huge project for the councillor not to participate in to help development his area. He said, I can do anything if I want to, he is not interested.

The requirement was as follows: The councillor was to organise a community meeting; the minutes of the meeting was to be held by the councillor; the attendance register of the community meeting held by the councillor and the feasibility study for the business proposal in the area.

Currently, I have withdrawn my proposal for development in Ilinge township.

I will resume my proposal to reopen the petrol station and the installation of Telkom landlines for fax purposes after the general election in May 2019, with the hope that those proposals will not fall on deaf ears.

I am so disappointed by the refusal for the development by the leading structure.

In my experience of working for 33 years in different structures in all provinces in the country, I achieved success for the companies I worked for.

During my seven years back at home, I have changed the lives of the community for the better. Even today, all the households in the community are benefiting from what I do in the area.

I am the candidate available for the position of being a ward councillor, should the ruling party be granted the powers after the general election in May.

If I can be voted in as the ward councillor by the community, I will resume the reopening of the petrol station, the installation of Telkom landlines for fax purposes, the upgrading of roads, see to the water supply, the stadium and more developments for the community, including attending to jobs issues.

In the past seven years back here, I have done the huge developments alone.

More can be done if I am given a chance to take Ilinge into the spotlight for the community, and that can only be done by the voting in of the ruling party in May.

Blocking development is as bad as the state capture, although it differs in degrees.

I am the candidate to take the reins and lead the community into the right direction where necessary after the election.