'Infighting affecting delivery'

'Infighting affecting delivery'
2009-12-08 08:08


Michael Hamlyn
Potchefstroom - Infighting among members of the ANC is destroying the ability of local government in the North West to deliver basic services to the people there, according to DA leader Helen Zille.

Speaking on Monday in Potchefstroom in the course of her tour of the region, Zille described the appalling state of two of the districts she visited.

"Sewage flows through the streets because the treatment plant has been out of commission for five years," she said. "There are chronic water shortages, relieved only because farmers transport water from their farms to the town.

"In Pelhindaba, there are three taps for 1 500 residents. Rubbish piles up in the road because it is not regularly removed.

Incompetent

"The Tswaing municipality cannot fix these problems because it is chronically bankrupt. But this did not stop the mayor from ordering a R400 000 car at the ratepayers' expense or leading a delegation to the Rugby World Cup in France.

"Things are so bad and the municipality so incompetent, that residents have resorted to trying to fix the problems themselves. But, when a group of concerned citizens tried to repair the sewerage plant, they were arrested."

She asked how did things get to this point. And she answered: "The ANC is no longer a real political party. It is a vehicle for corrupt cadres to accrue wealth, perks and privileges through their proximity to state resources.

"Elections are not fought so that the ANC can implement its vision for government. They are fought to ensure that powerful individuals and their cronies get access to state resources."

Zille, who is the premier of the Western Cape, quoted the former head of the president's office, Frank Chikane, who described a similar situation in a letter to the ANC leadership about what was happening in Bophirima, not far from where she was speaking.

Positions, power patronage, personal gain

"He wrote, and I quote," she said, "'Having worked on the problems facing the ANC in Bophirima for the last eight months, it is very clear that the conflict in Bophirima is about positions, power patronage, access to resources, tenders etc. All of it is about personal interests rather than the interests of the people of Bophirima. Winning an election into positions of the ANC is about personal gain rather than the revolutionary objectives of our movement.' I could not have put it better myself."

Many people are disillusioned by this state of affairs, Zille said.

Others are angry and have taken to the streets in protest.

"My message to these people is: Don't be angry or disillusioned. Do something about it that will bring meaningful change. That is what democracy is for."
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