The community of Magareng handed over a petition to the Frances Baard District Municipality calling for the development of a shopping complex in Warrenton to be fast-tracked.
THE COMMUNITY of Magareng handed over a petition to the Frances Baard District Municipality calling for the development of a shopping complex in Warrenton to be fast-tracked.
Residents have demanded that the District Municipality Planning Tribunal (DMPT) expedite the process and authorise the development in order for the project to commence.
The residents hope to put pressure on the DMPT to approve the plans after reports were conducted prior to the announcement of the development in 2017.
The community has also demanded answers as to what the delays are, as the project has already been advertised on boards throughout the small township.
A concerned resident, Boitumelo Johnson, said that the community has liaised with the developer of the complex, whose hands have reportedly been tied for more than two years since being allocated the tender.
Johnson said that he conducted research on the progress of the project after members of the community started demanding answers.
He added that there were also several attempts to start a protest in Warrenton.
He said the petition comprises more than 1 000 signatures and it was submitted to the Frances Baard district office on November 30.
“When the community threatened to go on protest I intervened by starting the research. That is how I managed to convince the community that we try to do things differently and follow other channels first. They agreed that we should not allow things to escalate from the beginning,” said Johnson.
