“If we don’t do the things we’ve promised here today, beat us up.”
This was said by Buffalo City mayor Princess Faku during her closing remarks in front of frustrated Mdantsane residents at the city’s first public hearing outreach programme held at Mdantsane’s NU1 community hall in BCM’s ward 12 on Tuesday.
She was in Mdantsane as part of the city’s Thetha Nathi campaign, one of the remedial actions proposed by the BCM council in August.
It wants the municipality to inform and educate residents about the metro’s available grant subsidies and importance of paying their rates.
Faku was accompanied by her entire executive, including council speaker Humphrey Maxegwana and municipal manager Mxolisi Yawa.
Heads of departments, senior managers and administrators were also present.
However, the initiative turned into a heated discussion where more than 100 residents voiced their grievances and criticised the municipal contingent for neglecting their needs.
Many accused the city’s human settlements department of dragging its feet in solving the RDP houses backlog in areas such as Velwano, Nondulu, Nkomponi and Sisonke informal settlements, among many other places.
The region was one of the areas hit hard by floods which left hundreds displaced and seeking shelter.
Some of the flood victims from informal settlements in Sisonke — popularly known as Boss Zonke and Emivundleni — were temporarily placed and still continue to sleep on the stage of the hall.
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Faku opened the programme by pleading with residents to make use of the city’s debt incentives schemes and indigent policy for those struggling to pay their rates.
She apologised for the housing issue and said the matter was sensitive.
“There are many old people here, aged 60, 70 and upwards, who still have no houses, we want to say sorry for that.
“We also noticed that in this ward there are old people who have had their electricity cut because they can’t pay ... I am here today ... to say that we don’t want old people to have their lights disconnected.
“Old people are crying for paying a R3,000 bill but we have indigent programmes to assist you,” she said.
“We want you to come forward, and we will drive this campaign.”
Nomthandazo Njongi, from area 15 in NU1, said: “We have many old people in my neighbourhood who have been without electricity for more than 15 years.
“We have accounts that are being billed incorrectly.
“I do check my meter box in my yard every time I am being billed and I wonder where do these workers come up with these numbers.
“What exactly are guys doing to us, because you say let’s come forward and when we come you expect us to still be paying [our parents’ bills].
“We will pay until Jesus comes at this rate,” she said.
In her closing remarks, Faku urged the human settlements department to set a new date where housing complaints would be addressed.
She told her executive to address all issues by the end of October.
“We want to thank you for your tolerance. Give us a chance to see if we will implement the things we’ve promised.
“If we don’t do the things we’ve promised here today, beat us up.”
In recent months, the city has been slammed by various parties for its failure to adequately consult citizens before it approved the 2024/2025 budget and IDP.
This culminated in a threat of legal action by a group of ratepayers’ associations which met Faku over the issue.
Speaking on behalf of the ratepayers, National Community Dialogues chair Leonard Ncumbese welcomed the Thetha Nathi campaign.
“Let us applaud what the mayor has done for this programme. We have been saying this for a long time.
“We’ve written to her many times where we asked her to go to the people.
“We hope she is not doing this for the records or scoring political points.
“We don’t know what will happen to the issues we have called her here for. We hope this will lead us in the right direction.
“We hope this initiative will bear fruit. Let’s wait and see now since people have spoken, what will happen,” Ncumbese said.
The Independent Civic Organisation of SA (Isanco), which had reported the lack of consultation to the National Treasury, said it was pursuing the case until the metro was brought to book.
Isanco BCM chair Mzwandile Vaaiboom said the city was embarking on the campaign trying to manage the damage it had caused.
“We have not forgotten that it is the same mayor who applied for a court interdict for the very same communities not to come to her offices.
“As a civic movement, we have nothing to applaud because we were the ones who appealed for such engagements last year.”
The city’s next stop will be in the NU7 community hall on Friday.
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