The executive mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality, Kagisho Sonyoni, met with disgruntled residents of Lethabo Park Phase 2 on Wednesday, where he committed that the electrification of 512 erven in the settlement will kick off on Friday.
THE EXECUTIVE mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality, Kagisho Sonyoni, met with disgruntled residents of Lethabo Park Phase 2 on September 6, where he committed that the electrification of 512 erven in the settlement will kick off today.
Sonyoni said that everything in the electrification process has been finalised and the project is at the implementation phase.
The mayor’s visit comes after the residents of the informal settlement, situated near Roodepan, blocked parts of Starling and Eagle streets with stones and rubbish on Tuesday morning to voice their unhappiness over delays to the electrification project.
They also planned a protest march for later on Tuesday, but this was abandoned after community members decided to “keep things peaceful” and to rather engage with Sol Plaatje Municipality.
The residents were upset that the municipality had failed to stick to previous commitment dates for the electrification project and they said the local authority was “keeping them in the dark”.
The electrification project was apparently supposed to kick off in March 2023 in Phase 2, but nothing has happened yet.
The residents claimed that Phase 2 of Lethabo Park was established before Phase 1, but Phase 1 was being prioritised in terms of service delivery.
Tuesday’s planned protest march was called off and a community delegation met with representatives from the municipality. An agreement was reached between the two parties for the mayor to address the residents.
Sonyoni “surprised” many when he and his delegation arrived at Oom Jaap se Plaas on Wednesday to address the residents.
The mayor asked to be given time until Friday to deal with the matter.
Sonyoni expressed disappointment in the community’s decision to protest, after the municipality had made an effort to work with them.
He expressed further disappointment over the residents’ claims to the media that the municipality was “sidelining” them.
He pointed out that he was fully aware of the situation in Lethabo Park including the issues of concern.
Sonyoni told the residents that the electrification delays were caused by processes and internal controls that needed to be completed within the municipality.
“Once you pressurise us to a point to make mistakes, we are all bound to lose the benefits of getting what we need to get as a community,” said Sonyoni. “Once all the processes that need to be completed first, once they are completed, the (electrification) process will unfold.
“To my surprise, I was confronted by a protest on Tuesday, which I do not know what the reason was. We already said that there needs to be work happening in Lethbo Park.”
Sonyoni warned the residents not to politicise the project or to “misbehave”, which risked the project being withdrawn.
He further warned them not to invite new people to erect shacks in the settlement while the process is under way.
“Let there please not be any complications. This is not our money, but money that we have applied for through the Integrated National Electrification Projects and the Department of Mineral Resources.
“The contractor will be introduced to you on Friday, in order for there to be a clear understanding of what is expected of both parties.”
Reading out the commitment letter to the residents, Sonyoni said he would rather not leave a copy so as to avoid being pressurised like before.
He further assured the residents that they are not neglected, nor forgotten.
“We are not going to make you feel as if you are the step-children of this institution. Not under this leadership which I am currently leading.
“But we also want to clarify that we are not here because of the protest, but because of the processes that were followed within the institution.
“Once we make mistakes in those processes, we tend to lose all, and the National Treasury will reverse what it has planned for us.
“So, I would like to ask you again that, whatever frustration that you have, (protesting) is not the way to resolve them. There are ways of resolving problems, through engagements.”
The residents questioned why the mayor had refused to leave a copy of the commitment letter.
They said they would give the mayor until 4pm today to deliver on his promises.
“If nothing happens on Friday, the thing is simple,” said one resident.
