The Bulletin spoke to Angel Khanyile about the Lekwa protests

The Bulletin spoke to Angel Khanyile about the Lekwa protests. Angel is a member of the Democratic Alliance as well as a member of parliament. Lekwa residents are fed up with the municipality The past weeks have been trying times for residents of Lekwa (Standerton). Years of mismanagement and neglect have now culminated in protest action from residents of Standerton One resident told The Bulletin that there had been a power cut on Monday that lasted until Tuesday late afternoon. Only intervention from the residents ensured that the power was switched on again. The ratepayer’s association obtained a court order against the municipality forcing them to restore the electricity supply. Water are also in short supply as residents are struggling with their water supply. There had been a pump failure and when a new pump arrived the Municipality could not install the pump. Private contractors had to do the installation. Residents staged a protest on Wednesday and handed a memorandum to the Lekwa municipality demanding that the municipality get their house in order. Their demands mention that the Mayor does not even reside in Lekwa but in Heidelberg. The Bulletin was told that during election time the current mayor used a fictitious address to register in Lekwa. This came to light when residents started dumping their refuse at his address only to be told that the residents there has no knowledge of him nor are they acquainted with him. The mayor and the municipal manager were successfully removed through a motion of no confidence a short while ago only to be immediately redeployed by the ANC showing their disregard for the democracy. Both were removed through a motion by the Democratic Alliance that was supported by all opposition parties and even some ANC councillors. During the past week, municipal worker also took to the streets on a far more violent manner to protest the municipalities unwillingness and ultimate refusal to implement wage the outcomes of the collective wage negotiations. In simple terms, they refused to allow increase for the workers. On Wednesday, the municipal workers tried to intimidate the residents of Standerton by singing, chanting, slurs and the burning of tires. The residents were unfazed and continue with their protest and handed the memorandum to a municipal representative. On Friday the municipal workers continued their protest and the Police had to use crowd control ammunition (rubber bullets etc) to disperse the crowd. When the Bulletin arrived in Standerton late Friday, the CBD resembled a war zone with smoke billowing from burned-out tires and rubble that was littered on the streets. None of the municipal workers wanted to speak to us on record but we were able to establish the reasons for their strike. Some were still waiting for the ANC leadership to report back as they were locked in discussions inside the municipal buildings. Barbara Shepard, a business owner of Standerton, said to the Bulletin: “I think that our municipality dug a hole so deep that it is impossible for them to get out off. All the current service delivery problems are indicative of one thing, financial mismanagement!” “During the last financial year R47m disappeared. No one knows where to,” she continued, “our only hope would be to have a private, accredited and trustworthy accounting firm that would manage the municipalities finances.”

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