RESIDENTS of Dikgopaneng Village outside Makapanstad, North West have warned Moretele Mayor George Manyike to kiss their votes goodbye after he pulled a no-show on Saturday, 3 February.
They accused the mayor of taking their concerns very lightly and vowed not to vote in the coming general elections.
Residents said when they blocked the gates of the voting centre on Saturday, they thought they were sending a strong message to him but unfortunately, he ignored them as always.
Community leader Jackson Masenya said the residents are faced with several service delivery challenges and that it’s disappointing when the mayor brushes off their issues.
Jackson said they're still adamant that they will not participate in the upcoming general elections as they can’t choose leaders who will fold their arms and not address challenges in villages.
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Speaking to Daily Sun, Jackson said they just want the final answer of when the dug borehole will start providing water to residents.
“The issue of water has been worrying since 2018. We've been promised heaven and earth, but nothing has been done until today. We have held countless meetings about the matter, but no one is listening,” he said.
Resident Morongwa Malatetja (62) said the community is angry after they heard the mayor tell the media that he'll attend to them in 90 days.
“We are worried because we know we will reach 90 days without him coming to address the major challenge that we are facing which is water. We're fuming because we are aware that he's just pushing time so that the elections can pass,” said Morongwa.
Another community leader, Solly Mothiba, said they ended up opening the gates to the IEC offices after they heard that the mayor was on his way to engage with them.
“We sat there the whole day until it went dark and the mayor was nowhere to be found. Instead, we were given T-shirts so that we could calm down. We have more challenges here, but we are worried about the water challenge,” he said.
Moretele municipal spokesman Mothupi Malebye said the reason the mayor could not attend to the Dikgopaneng issue is that he was deployed in Mahikeng, but he promised to make a follow up meeting with the community.
