Qunu residents have warned Deputy President Paul Mashatile that his party stands to lose power even in places like Qunu if it does not shape up.
Qunu holds a sentimental value to the party as it is the birthplace of Nelson Mandala, the country’s first democratically-elected president.
The residents were speaking to Mashatile during his visit to the village on Thursday.
Their warning comes after service delivery protests in August which saw the N2 blocked with burning tyres and logs and even trucks blockading the road.
The community later sent a delegation of traditional leaders to air their grievances to Mashatile when he visited Western Mpondoland King Ndamase Ndamase in the Nyandeni Great Place near Libode.
Among the list of grievances were water woes, with residents saying taps had been dry for years.
“For over a decade, we have been crying to the government as this area has been without services,” Qunu traditional leader Nkosikazi Nokwanele Balizulu said.
“We are sharing water with animals, roads are decaying ... Our pleas are falling on deaf ears, it seems that the ANC has now turned its back on Qunu, an insult to the legacy of Madiba [Mandela].”
Balizulu, who stays opposite the Mandela compound, said Qunu was forgotten.
Abathembu Development Forum chair Thembani Makhubalo said the ANC had dumped Qunu.
“We talk of the area where the world icon, Madiba, was raised, where Madiba lays buried. But there is absolutely nothing showing that.
“His village is one of the most underdeveloped, poor and dumped villages, nobody cares.
“You are just spitting on the grave of Mandela, insulting his legacy. The ANC will lose support in Qunu,” Balizulu said.
“Be warned, if the attitude is not changing, the ANC will lose common ground. If the ANC survives the 2026 local government elections, it will not survive the other elections.
“People have been failed many times. The King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality and its mayor, Nyaniso Nelani, have failed us many times.”
The residents’ demands include the tarring of two roads, one between Elliotdale and the N2 and the other between Elliotdale and Mqanduli.
They also want an improvement of the Bhityi police station, which oversees one of the crime hotspots in the OR Tambo district.
Acting police minister Prof Firoz Cachalia, who was part of Mashatile’s delegation, promised that the station would be upgraded and more resources, including personnel, would be added by December.
Mashatile thanked the Qunu leaders for being frank, saying that was what he wanted from leaders.
“We are not just here to listen today and leave matters behind. Every issue raised at ward level will be actively tracked and recorded.
“We encourage local leaders to submit these concerns in writing so that responses can come quicker and solutions can be implemented faster.”
Daily Dispatch
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