Owen Kock

Mangaung Metropolitan Mayor, Thabo Manyoni, is aware and understands that the people on the ground are angry, but he’s prepared to listen and try and help them as far as humanly possible. This emerged during his visit to Botshabelo last week, where he launched the eradication of VIP toilets, as well as attended the opening a newly built road and bridge. “I know the people are angry, but sometimes they don’t know why they are angry and I’m angry because they are all angry,” Manyoni said during his visit.

He added that he believes personal touch and treating each other with dignity, need to be worked on.  “The culture of respect, of talking to one another and not across one another, is what we need to work on in the country. When we work on that, we don’t have to come up with excuses, we can communicate in a decent manner and tell people what it is we are not doing, and what it is we are doing.

“What we are doing in Botshabelo, is trying to bridge the gap between the communities and the municipality, because it’s their municipality. In Afrikaans I’m called ‘die Burgemeester’ and ‘julle is die burgers’. ‘Julle (the ‘burgers’) moet julle munisipaliteit lei, ek is net in beheer’,” Manyoni said. The project (Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu and Bloemfontein) is a  R70 million one over a period of three years and this financial year alone R20 million will be spent.

“The projects we’re working on today (last Thursday), was the artillery road that connects communities to each other and the main road which leads to town. I was there to exert pressure as the road is nearing completion.  “I also launched the building of the community hall because we don’t have much social facilities in this area. The hall is the first phase and second phase will be the building of a new library and clinic in the same area next to the community hall,” Manyoni added. A sports complex will also be established once the current projects have been completed, so it can be a one-stop facility to the community.