One of the first things the newly appointed Manguang Metro Municipality (MMM) administrator, Thomas Mkaza, and his team, have tackled since his appointment, is to try and iron out some of the issues that the MMM has had with Bloemwater.
Speaking to media outlets in the city, Mkaza, said they have started talks in order to try and resolve the tension between the bulk water service provider and the municipality. He also spoke on the plans and actions he and his team have already put in place since they have taken office. He explained that each person on his team is experienced and each of them has expertise.
Bloemfontein Courant spoke to various political parties in the city to hear what their take is on the new administrator and what their expectations are of him and his team.
Here is what they had to say: The organisational development secretary of COPE, Pakes Dikgetsi, told Bloemfontein Courant that at this point they do not have much expectations of the new administrator as they feel he will still be constrained to dirty politics.
Dikgetsi further feels that Mkaza will not have enough leeway to do what is right. “The only expectation that we have, is that people must go out and vote for change like the president said in his Freedom Day speech he delivered in Botshabelo.” He said people should vote and vote correctly so that they can ensure they restore their local government.
Councillor of the DA, Werner Horn, told the publication that they wish him well but are not holding their breath that change will come anytime soon. He said it is highly doubtful that having replaced the administrator will now bring the necessary results. “Unless the new administrator would be willing and able to do his duty in a nonpolitic way, his appointment will not make much of a difference.”
Horn added that more than a year down the line, very little has been done to improve basic service delivery. “As we speak, household refuse has been piling up for more than a week and the issue with Bloemwater is a lingering, ticking time bomb.”
Sazly Hartzenberg
