Calls mount for Matjhabeng mayor to bow out, civil groups urge residents to join protest

It’s merely two years since Matjhebeng local municipality mayor Thanduxolo Khalipa cling to the hot seat as the leader of six communities, and it is too soon to make a conclusion that Khalipa is living on a borrowed time as calls to resign mount.

The community of Matjhabeng in Lejweleputswa District, comprising of six townships is determined to prevent history repeating itself where residents had to endure years of hardships due to corrupt activities and decaying state of townships due to ailing service delivery.

To prevent the disastrous days to occur further during the tenure of the then ever-beleaguered Matjhabeng municipal mayor Nkosinjani Speelman, civil society groups spearheaded by Lejweleputswa Community Development Consortium is now mobilising communities members in all townships in Matjhabeng to hand down tools and call for the head of the embattled Matjhabeng municipal mayor Thanduxolo Khalipa.

Thabo Ramokoatsi, secretary-general of the Lejweleputswa Community Development Consortium, revealed to Kasi Voice News that the movement “is not shaken on its call for Matjhabeng mayor [Thanduloxolo] Khalipa to step down with immediate effect” – citing that the mayor has failed to serve communities.

“We demand Khalipa to leave our public office in a period of seven (7) working days, as he doesn’t fully the well-being of Matjhabeng communities through economic development and creating jobs, not to mention ailing infrastructure,” Ramokoatsi said.

In a memorandum shared with Kasi Voice News, the civil movement enumerated 10 list of demands to underpin their call for the mayor to bow out.

Among other list of highlighted demands the movement entailed the following demands:

• We demand Khalipha to step down with immediate effect, as to leave our public office in a period of 07 working days, for he doesn`t represent fully the rights of Matjhabeng communities through employment and economic involvement, failed to defend our rights as adjacent, mine host and mine communities around the municipality, failed to provide social and political intervention in terms of public service delivery, failed to get involved in the matters of CES.
• We demand our municipality, through administrative executive authority led by municipal manager, to implement fully chapter 07 section 152 (1) a-e and (2) in respect, as a provision for public service delivery, for community to get involved, for municipal sustainable service delivery, for Municipality to can account together with communities, for local economic developmenand or for sake of poor and unemployed communities.
• We demand our municipality to deal directly with issues of poverty and starvation caused by thehigher rate of unemployment, demand our municipality to unite all private customary food stores, to provide food on a monthly bases, as south African stock price has affected the low class communities, or consortium and VCC will on behalf of our poor communities, we mean, municipal food security must be activated.

According to Ramokoatsi, Khalipa kept the communities on tenterhooks for his alleged “abuse of power” for not showing respect to communities.

“Our mayor doesn’t respect us as the communities, whenever he utters a word it comes in a form of disrespect, we can’t have a Mayor who has zero respect towards our communities,” says aggrieved Ramokoatsi.

The civil movement says it has planned a peaceful shutdown set to take charge on Wednesday, February 22, to raise their demands.

“We demand our municipality to approve waste removal project to the CES, that will help most Matjhabeng unemployed communities get involved, the project will be able to clean both local domestic waste and town cleaning on the shopping side, the project will include 2000 Matjhabeng unemployed communities,’ Ramokoatsi said.

In the past, Matjhabeng residents have been staging protests, demanding sewerage infrastructure, proper toilets, water, electricity and quality homes.

Office of Matjhabeng mayor said to date, they have not yet received the memorandum of grievances or neither being aware of the planned protest.