On Monday Ezibeleni residents packed the community hall in zone one to tell Luleka Gubhula, mayor of Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, (EMLM) to fire the ward councillors and cancel their municipal debt.
Gubhula had led a delegation which included speaker Bongiwe van Heerden, chief whip Nombuyiselo Ndlebe, and all the ward councillors of Ezibeleni.
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 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 specially 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 papers,” said a disgruntled youth.
The list of grievances included potholes, electricity that is constantly tripping, refuse not collected, the dumping site near Queendustria, unemployment and RDP houses, among others.
When Gubhula spoke she acknowledged 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 them,’ said the mayor.
She went on to explain what the municipality was doing and the challenges it had had, 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.
