On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, KG (Kgomotso) Moeketsi from SAFM interviewed mr. Jannie Schabort, chairman of Mafube Business Forum (MBF) and mr. Josie Ralebenya, municipal manager of Mafube Local Municipality (MLM). It was a balanced discussion and certain issues regarding service delivery and the Supreme Court case were discussed. KG was particularly well informed about the case and constantly quoted from the court documents.
Immediately after the interview, residents from the Mafube community contacted MBF's office. Interesting information came from various sources.
• It came to light that the problems that residents face with municipal accounts and statements also allegedly affect businesses. Businesses, according to sources, faithfully paid their municipal bill, but the amount was never credited to their statements. When asked, MLM apparently asked the business to do the calculations itself - because the initial amount was known to the business. • It has come to light that the JoJo tanks that have been set up in Namahadi and surroundings for water supply to the residential area, according to residents, are not being sterilized. Therefore they do not use the water from it. The water trucks that MLM sends to the living areas arrive, according to the residents, many times after they have gone to work. So those households then have to get through the day without water again. • Garbage removal schedules are still a big mystery. It is said that the times for this are sometimes spread on social media, but the areas where it takes place are usually very specific, and apparently only for the benefit of certain "connected" people. Residents say that sometimes a truck passes by at 06h00 in the morning, but only picks up one house in the street's rubbish, and then the truck is not seen again for the rest of the day. • One listener commented on the so called yellow fleet. She mentioned that they have to arrange for a TLB themselves and pay when a grave has to be dug. • Water meters also seem to pose other challenges. According to a resident, there were two meters with the same number. So this resident bought large quantities of water very often, while the other "ghost owner" of that meter number, helped to use up the water. After much investigation, the area of fault was detected, but she was never credited for her losses.
Administration, record keeping and planning appear to be major challenges for MLM. A lot of small amounts of money fall to the ground without being picked up, which build up to a large sum of money.
Every Mafube resident should inform their ward councilor about problems in his or her area. Complaints and problems should be followed up if they are not resolved.
MBF remains committed to assisting the community. Feel free to contact us and tell us about your service delivery issues. Visit our offices at 18A Church Street during business hours, on Mondays to Thursdays from 08h30 to 16h00 and Fridays from 08h00 to 12h30, or contact Marina on WhatsApp at 0791454295 or send an email to info@mafubebf.org
images: http://www.safm.co.za
