The Rep 21 February 2020

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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 EYoung man diesfrom brutalattack, leavingfamily in painARRIVE ALIVE: Lesley Conjwa asks Enoch Mgijima local municipality mayor Luleka Gubhulawhat type of car she drives, when complaining about pothole-riddled roads in Ezibeleni, at acommunity meeting on Monday Picture: NTSIKELELO QOYOEMLM mayor hearsEzibeleni residents’service delivery woesNTSIKELELO QOYOOn Monday, Ezibeleni residents packed thecommunity hall in zone one to tell Enoch MgijimaLocal Municipality mayor Luleka Gubhula tocancel their municipal debt, and fire the wardcouncillors.Gubhula led a delegation which includedspeaker Bongiwe van Heerden, chief whipNombuyiselo Ndlebe, as well as all the Ezibeleniward councillors.The meeting followed a petition delivered byresidents, led by the Komani Residents’Association last Friday, listing grievances aboutservice delivery.Residents waited their turn to tell the mayorhow living conditions had become unbearable inBEEF STEWPORK KNUCKLES & STEWMUTTON SHOULDER CHOPSPORKIE BANGERSBEEF KIDNEYSPORK SHOULDER RIBSWHOLE / HALF HENSKNORR SOUP ALL FLAVOURSKNORROX CUBES 12’SVELENTO SOYA 400G (ALL FLAVOURS)EGGS 60’s LARGEPOTATOES 1st GRADE 4KGR49.99 KGR29.99 KGR79.99 KGR46.99 KGR17.99 KGR39.99 KGR29.99 KGR3.99 EAR12.99 EAR9.99 EAR69.99 EAR22.99 EAE&OE-WHILE STOCKS LAST-LIMITED QUANTITIES WE RESERVETHE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW SPECIALS WITHOUT NOTICECOMPETITION TIME:SPEND R200.00 OR MORE & STAND A CHANCE TO WINA 4 PLATE GAS STOVE. TO THE VALUE OF R2500.00FOR FIRST PRIZE. SECOND PRIZE R500.00 MABOVULAVOUCHER TO. SPEND HERE AS YOU PLEASE ANDTHIRD PRIZE A R250.00 GAME VOUCHER.T&C’S APPLY. NO TRADERS.SPECIALS VALID FOR THE 21 ST TOTHE 27 TH FEBRUARYthe township, questioning why they paid taxes ifno 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 thendemand rates from us,” interjected another.Their ire was especially directed at thecouncillors whom they said had failed abjectly,with some allegedly demanding bribes for jobs.“I have been applying for 12 years [for a farmnear Komani]. I have never received a response.“I know it is because you want it for yourfriends and people you know. I do not want to beknown by you,” added another woman.“We have firms here but they are full ofpeople from outside, we are left to pick upp a p e r s ,” said a disgruntled youth.The list of grievances included roads riddledwith potholes, electricity supply that wasconstantly tripping, refuse not being collected, thedumping site near Queendustria, unemploymentand RDP housing, among other issues.Addressing residents, Gubhula a ck n ow l e d g e dthe service delivery failures and condemned theillegal behaviour of which some officials wereaccused.“People of Ezibelelni are not wrong to askabout roads, streets lights, electricity, the drainagesystem and collecting of revenue, this is our job.“I drive on those potholes, we all experiencethe same thing. They are an embarrassment to usas government.“It is unacceptable that bribes of any kind aredemanded. Those who demand sexual favours aredemeaning women. Their victims must exposet h e m ,” said the mayor.She went on to explain what the municipalitywas doing and the challenges it faced, financiallyand logistically.Gubhula said she had no power to removecouncillors and that the speaker’s office was therelevant place to deal with this.She also committed to tabling the scrapping ofthe area’s debt at council.The council delegation was given 14 days toattend to the listed demands.PROTECTING YOUR ASSETSLADIES MUST NEVER WALK ALONE,AFTER VISITING NIGHT CLUBS,TAVERNS AND SHEBEENS.RAPISTS REGULARLY TARGETLADIES THAT ARE UNDER THEINFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL.35 Ebden Street, KomaniTel: 045 839 7228 | 044 010 0541 | Fax: 045 838 2430Mother says son wrongfully accused of stealingABONGILES O L U N D WA N AA25-year-old man whowas brutally attacked inKomani recently forallegedly stealing a car battery,died from his injuries last week.Abongile Sishuba, whosustained brain injuries, diedafter fighting for his life for twoweeks in Frontier Hospital.His friend, Cyril Baartman,who was also attacked duringthe incident opposite the localprison, said they were walkingto town when a white Nissanbakkie stopped next to them.“About seven men headedfor us and asked where theirNew CHDM managertackling five issues firstNTSIKELELO QOYOThe newly appointed Chris HaniDistrict Municipality managerthis week spelt out his actionplan, with responding to theauditor- general’s recentdisclaimer opinion his firstp r i o r i t y.Gcobani Mashiyi, the formermanager of Enoch MgijimaLocal Municipality, was recentlyappointed as CHDM’s newmanager, assuming his dutieslast week. The post had beenvacant since 2018.Speaking at a pressconference on Tuesday, Mashiyisaid there were five key areas hewould focus on in the next sixmonths.First would be the auditorg e n e ra l ’s “disclaimer” opinion.He said an audit action planhad been developed, whichwould be presented to themayoral committee first, then tocouncil.“We will make sure all theelements of the action plan areimplemented and monitored onAlleged chair thieves are nabbedLast Tuesday night, Red Guardresponse officers attended to analarm at a business where theyfound a window had beenbroken, operations managerWillie Reinecke told The Rep.They chased a suspect andassisted the police inapprehending him.On Saturday morning, anarmed response officer wasdispatched to a seed business toassist the manager who hadcalled the company’s 24-hourbattery was. I was confused.They immediately grabbed meand Sishuba ran away.”Baartman said he hadmanaged to wrestle his way freefrom the men and run away.He thought Sishuba had alsogot away, however, he was stillmissing hours later.Sishuba’s mother, Xoliswa,went to the police station withBaartman to report the incident.Xoliswa said: “I want themen to get life imprisonment.My son died a painful death.“In the hospital his face wasbig and swollen and his eyeswere closed, his skin had peeledoff and some of his hair wasremoved, which shows that hea fortnightly basis [to] ensuremaximum implementation.”Next for Mashiyi will be tomake sure no municipal grantamounts return to the nationalpurse.“In the past, we have notdone well in the spending ofthese grants. However, in thelast six months there is a plan toimprove that situation.“Four weeks ago, we had ameeting with the department ofcorporate governance &traditional affairs when wediscussed spending of thegrants, particularly themunicipal infrastructure grant.“We requested CHDM todevelop a spending accelerationplan which will detail how thegrants will be spent.“We will try to make sure nogrants are returned due to nonperformanceand non-spending.“Complementing theexpenditure will be improvedrevenue collection,” he said.Mashiyi said among otheravenues, an improved billingsystem was being explored.control room for help. Theyassisted him to apprehend threestaff members who hadallegedly attempted to stealgoods. They were handed overto the police.That afternoon, the controlroom received a call for from achurch where suspects wereallegedly stealing chairs.Response officers caughttwo suspects who had broken inat the back office. The two werehanded over to the police.was dragged. The doctors saidhe had a clot on the brain.“He could not speak and hisbody was shaking . . . he diedfor something he did not do.”She said she had informedthe police investigator after sheand Baartman had spotted thebakkie one day in town, but noarrests had been made“The investigator told me theman said his vehicle was withhim the day of the event, whichis why he did not arrest him.”She was relieved the casehad been handed over toanother investigator.Police spokesperson CaptNamhla Mdleleni could not bereached for comment.“We are busy with the firstphase, which is data cleansing.“This will move us towardscredible billing.”He also said there wereproposals to centralise a billingpoint in Komani for both waterand electricity.“The manner in whichpayment systems have beenstructured has posed achallenge to consumers of waterand electricity.“CHDM has initiated anengagement with EnochMgijima to look at a better way.”Mashiyi’s said themunicipality was cognisant ofthe deteriorating water situationacross the region.“We want to stabilise watersupply. One of our keychallenges is that theinfrastructure is very old.“However, there is workbeing done to make sure waterprovision is not compromised.”Other areas he would lookinto were the support of localmunicipalities and improvinggeneral performance, he said.During the night, responseofficers attended to an alarmactivation at SouthbournePrimary School, where theyfound that the door of thecomputer room was not locked.The caretaker was called tolock the door but nothing hadbeen stolen.A suspect was apprehendedfor theft at a supermarket onSunday. The items wererecovered and the suspectreleased as he was under 18.
Coca-Cola, the Spenserian script, the Red Disk Icon, Tab, Sprite, Iconic Spark Design, Fanta, Stoney, Stylised “S”, Twist and Sparletta are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company © 2019.THE REPRESENTATIVE 21 February 2020 Tel: (045) 839-4040 / editorial: mjekulal@therep.co.za / advertising: charodinev@therep.co.za 3Road equipmentfinally arrives’EMLM delivers on road maintenanceANDISA BONANIResidents of the EnochMgijima LocalMunicipality (EMLM) willsoon commute on refurbishedroads as the new yellow plantequipment handed over bytransport MEC Weziwe Tikanain 2018 has finally arrived.The fleet, which consists of agrader, TLB, excavator and aroller, are servicing severalroads in Komani that residentshave been complaining about.In last year’s TakingParliament to The People held inKomani, Tikana said theequipment t had not beendelivered due to differencesbetween the department and thelocal authority in the servicelevel agreement (SLA).However, Enoch MgijimaLocal Municipality (EMLM)spokesman Lonwabo Kowa saidthe SLA and both partiesinvolved had agreed on roles,responsibilities and how themachinery must be used andmaintained.“The agreement will lapse inMarch 2023 and the plant willbe returned to the department.Roads under the EMLM are setto be revamped after it r e c e ive dthe long-awaited constructionNEW ARRIVALS: The new EMLM yellow plant was used tostart refurbishing stretches of gravel roads in the Ezibeleni andMlungisi townships last week Picture: LONWABO KOWAplant from the transportdepartment. It was handed overto the municipality on February7. The plant has been acquiredto maintain damaged roads inthe municipal area.”Speaking at the handover,portfolio head for technicalservices councillor NoluthandoNqabisa said the plant wouldensure gravel roads weremaintained.“The ultimate goal is to havepaved roads, but at this point weneed this kind of machinery.”Projects to be carried outwith the plant include theupgrading of internal streets inHofmeyr and Luxolwenitownships, upgrading of theroad past the Tsolwana NatureReserve, upgrading of theEzibeleni main road and anumber of others.COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE: DA MPL Yusuf Cassim looks through a broken board on thewall of a Louis Rex Primary School classroom, during an oversight visit to the school recentlyPicture: ANDISA BONANIDilapidated Louis Rex Primaryendangering pupils’ lives: DAANDISA BONANIA DA member of the provinciallegislature says Louis RexPrimary School’s dilapidatedinfrastructure poses a seriousdanger to pupils.The MPL and party’sconstituency leader in EnochMgijima, Jane Cowley, wasspeaking at an oversight visit tothe school by fellow partymember, MPL and shadow MECfor education, Yusuf Cassim.Cassim said the visit was partof the president’s safe sanitationprogramme to ensure thatschools which needed newinfrastructure would be assisted.“Through this programmewe learned of 1,500 schoolswith unsafe sanitation facilitiesin the province.“In the previous financialyear, the Eastern Capegovernment was supposed tohave provided 138 schools withnew sanitation infrastructure,but they only managed toprovide 42.“It is a lot worse in thecurrent financial year, whichwill end soon. They weresupposed to provide 262schools with toilets, but mosthave not been started yet.“They have this tendency toappoint implementing agents insome schools to do last-minutework that is not up to standard.”Cassim said at this rate, itwould take government 40years to deal with the sanitationbacklogs in schools, withouteven mentioning those thatneeded refurbishment.“This breaks my heartbecause we have seen the plightof schools in the province,particularly this one.“There are still small girlswho go to open fields to relievethemselves. It is unsafe,infringes on their rights andtramples on their safety . . . “He said his main priority wasto ensure the school remainedat the top of the educationdepartment’s priority list forschools that needed to berebuilt, as well as on the safesanitation programme.Cowley said pupils had alsohurt themselves due to holes inbroken wooden floors andinhaled dangerous asbestosfibres from the roof every day.DA member of parliamentDesiree van der Walt said shewould take the matter up withthe relevant committee toensure help was fast-tracked.Principal Bevan Christoffelssaid the school had 1,400pupils, of whom 800 were girlswho had to share 12 toiletcubicles, most of which did notwork properly.
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