The Rep 21 February 2020

2 Tel: (045) 839-4040 / editorial: mjekulal@therep.co.za / advertising: charodinev@therep.co.za 21 February 2020 THE R E P R ES E N TAT I V E
Young man dies
from brutal
attack, leaving
family in pain
ARRIVE ALIVE: Lesley Conjwa asks Enoch Mgijima local municipality mayor Luleka Gubhula
what type of car she drives, when complaining about pothole-riddled roads in Ezibeleni, at a
community meeting on Monday Picture: NTSIKELELO QOYO
EMLM mayor hears
Ezibeleni residents’
service delivery woes
NTSIKELELO QOYO
On Monday, Ezibeleni residents packed the
community hall in zone one to tell Enoch Mgijima
Local Municipality mayor Luleka Gubhula to
cancel their municipal debt, and fire the ward
councillors.
Gubhula led a delegation which included
speaker Bongiwe van Heerden, chief whip
Nombuyiselo Ndlebe, as well as all the Ezibeleni
ward councillors.
The meeting followed a petition delivered by
residents, led by the Komani Residents’
Association last Friday, listing grievances about
service delivery.
Residents waited their turn to tell the mayor
how living conditions had become unbearable in
BEEF STEW
PORK KNUCKLES & STEW
MUTTON SHOULDER CHOPS
PORKIE BANGERS
BEEF KIDNEYS
PORK SHOULDER RIBS
WHOLE / HALF HENS
KNORR SOUP ALL FLAVOURS
KNORROX CUBES 12’S
VELENTO SOYA 400G (ALL FLAVOURS)
EGGS 60’s LARGE
POTATOES 1st GRADE 4KG
R49.99 KG
R29.99 KG
R79.99 KG
R46.99 KG
R17.99 KG
R39.99 KG
R29.99 KG
R3.99 EA
R12.99 EA
R9.99 EA
R69.99 EA
R22.99 EA
E&OE-WHILE STOCKS LAST-LIMITED QUANTITIES WE RESERVE
THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW SPECIALS WITHOUT NOTICE
COMPETITION TIME:
SPEND R200.00 OR MORE & STAND A CHANCE TO WIN
A 4 PLATE GAS STOVE. TO THE VALUE OF R2500.00
FOR FIRST PRIZE. SECOND PRIZE R500.00 MABOVULA
VOUCHER TO. SPEND HERE AS YOU PLEASE AND
THIRD PRIZE A R250.00 GAME VOUCHER.
T&C’S APPLY. NO TRADERS.
SPECIALS VALID FOR THE 21 ST TO
THE 27 TH FEBRUARY
the township, questioning why they paid taxes if
no services were rendered.
“We do not even get black bags anymore,
what are we paying for?” asked one resident.
“You give jobs to your friends and then
demand rates from us,” interjected another.
Their ire was especially directed at the
councillors whom they said had failed abjectly,
with some allegedly demanding bribes for jobs.
“I have been applying for 12 years [for a farm
near Komani]. I have never received a response.
“I know it is because you want it for your
friends and people you know. I do not want to be
known by you,” added another woman.
“We have firms here but they are full of
people from outside, we are left to pick up
p a p e r s ,” said a disgruntled youth.
The list of grievances included roads riddled
with potholes, electricity supply that was
constantly tripping, refuse not being collected, the
dumping site near Queendustria, unemployment
and RDP housing, among other issues.
Addressing residents, Gubhula a ck n ow l e d g e d
the service delivery failures and condemned the
illegal behaviour of which some officials were
accused.
“People of Ezibelelni are not wrong to ask
about roads, streets lights, electricity, the drainage
system and collecting of revenue, this is our job.
“I drive on those potholes, we all experience
the same thing. They are an embarrassment to us
as government.
“It is unacceptable that bribes of any kind are
demanded. Those who demand sexual favours are
demeaning women. Their victims must expose
t h e m ,” said the mayor.
She went on to explain what the municipality
was doing and the challenges it faced, financially
and logistically.
Gubhula said she had no power to remove
councillors and that the speaker’s office was the
relevant place to deal with this.
She also committed to tabling the scrapping of
the area’s debt at council.
The council delegation was given 14 days to
attend to the listed demands.
PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS
LADIES MUST NEVER WALK ALONE,
AFTER VISITING NIGHT CLUBS,
TAVERNS AND SHEBEENS.
RAPISTS REGULARLY TARGET
LADIES THAT ARE UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL.
35 Ebden Street, Komani
Tel: 045 839 7228 | 044 010 0541 | Fax: 045 838 2430
Mother says son wrongfully accused of stealing
ABONGILE
S O L U N D WA N A
A25-year-old man who
was brutally attacked in
Komani recently for
allegedly stealing a car battery,
died from his injuries last week.
Abongile Sishuba, who
sustained brain injuries, died
after fighting for his life for two
weeks in Frontier Hospital.
His friend, Cyril Baartman,
who was also attacked during
the incident opposite the local
prison, said they were walking
to town when a white Nissan
bakkie stopped next to them.
“About seven men headed
for us and asked where their
New CHDM manager
tackling five issues first
NTSIKELELO QOYO
The newly appointed Chris Hani
District Municipality manager
this week spelt out his action
plan, with responding to the
auditor- general’s recent
disclaimer opinion his first
p r i o r i t y.
Gcobani Mashiyi, the former
manager of Enoch Mgijima
Local Municipality, was recently
appointed as CHDM’s new
manager, assuming his duties
last week. The post had been
vacant since 2018.
Speaking at a press
conference on Tuesday, Mashiyi
said there were five key areas he
would focus on in the next six
months.
First would be the auditor
g e n e ra l ’s “disclaimer” opinion.
He said an audit action plan
had been developed, which
would be presented to the
mayoral committee first, then to
council.
“We will make sure all the
elements of the action plan are
implemented and monitored on
Alleged chair thieves are nabbed
Last Tuesday night, Red Guard
response officers attended to an
alarm at a business where they
found a window had been
broken, operations manager
Willie Reinecke told The Rep.
They chased a suspect and
assisted the police in
apprehending him.
On Saturday morning, an
armed response officer was
dispatched to a seed business to
assist the manager who had
called the company’s 24-hour
battery was. I was confused.
They immediately grabbed me
and Sishuba ran away.”
Baartman said he had
managed to wrestle his way free
from the men and run away.
He thought Sishuba had also
got away, however, he was still
missing hours later.
Sishuba’s mother, Xoliswa,
went to the police station with
Baartman to report the incident.
Xoliswa said: “I want the
men to get life imprisonment.
My son died a painful death.
“In the hospital his face was
big and swollen and his eyes
were closed, his skin had peeled
off and some of his hair was
removed, which shows that he
a fortnightly basis [to] ensure
maximum implementation.”
Next for Mashiyi will be to
make sure no municipal grant
amounts return to the national
purse.
“In the past, we have not
done well in the spending of
these grants. However, in the
last six months there is a plan to
improve that situation.
“Four weeks ago, we had a
meeting with the department of
corporate governance &
traditional affairs when we
discussed spending of the
grants, particularly the
municipal infrastructure grant.
“We requested CHDM to
develop a spending acceleration
plan which will detail how the
grants will be spent.
“We will try to make sure no
grants are returned due to nonperformance
and non-spending.
“Complementing the
expenditure will be improved
revenue collection,” he said.
Mashiyi said among other
avenues, an improved billing
system was being explored.
control room for help. They
assisted him to apprehend three
staff members who had
allegedly attempted to steal
goods. They were handed over
to the police.
That afternoon, the control
room received a call for from a
church where suspects were
allegedly stealing chairs.
Response officers caught
two suspects who had broken in
at the back office. The two were
handed over to the police.
was dragged. The doctors said
he had a clot on the brain.
“He could not speak and his
body was shaking . . . he died
for something he did not do.”
She said she had informed
the police investigator after she
and Baartman had spotted the
bakkie one day in town, but no
arrests had been made
“The investigator told me the
man said his vehicle was with
him the day of the event, which
is why he did not arrest him.”
She was relieved the case
had been handed over to
another investigator.
Police spokesperson Capt
Namhla Mdleleni could not be
reached for comment.
“We are busy with the first
phase, which is data cleansing.
“This will move us towards
credible billing.”
He also said there were
proposals to centralise a billing
point in Komani for both water
and electricity.
“The manner in which
payment systems have been
structured has posed a
challenge to consumers of water
and electricity.
“CHDM has initiated an
engagement with Enoch
Mgijima to look at a better way.”
Mashiyi’s said the
municipality was cognisant of
the deteriorating water situation
across the region.
“We want to stabilise water
supply. One of our key
challenges is that the
infrastructure is very old.
“However, there is work
being done to make sure water
provision is not compromised.”
Other areas he would look
into were the support of local
municipalities and improving
general performance, he said.
During the night, response
officers attended to an alarm
activation at Southbourne
Primary School, where they
found that the door of the
computer room was not locked.
The caretaker was called to
lock the door but nothing had
been stolen.
A suspect was apprehended
for theft at a supermarket on
Sunday. The items were
recovered and the suspect
released as he was under 18.