Mayor denies council fist fights

ONALENNA KELEBEILE
Staff Writer | Friday May 17, 2013 00:00

The mayor told a kgotla meeting in Botshabelo recently that councillors, with their different personalities and perspectives, are bound to disagree on some issues. 'Our disagreement is not a sin. It would be very abnormal for us to always agree on issues. Just gauge us on the level of services we deliver to you not the way we disagree on issues,' he added.

The mayor also said his councillors work as a coherent team as if they are from the same political party.One resident Chalido Madome said during the comments session, 'You are fighting in council, we know that. If your battles as councillors have stopped then say so, not that there are no fights'.

Madome also accused council of failure to consult and poor planning. He cited what he called unnecessary legal costs  and sitting allowances for councillors.In his response the mayor said, 'Makhanselara ga ba je sepe ko khanseleng, re ipolaelwa ke tlala hela (Councilors eat nothing at the council. We are an impoverished lot).

'We do not deny that we changed mayors but I want you to gauge us through service delivery. Ga ke dumele gore re a lwa, maybe ntwa ya teng ke yone e re kgontshang tiro (I don't agree that we are fighting. May be it is the battle which makes us overcome our challenges),' he said.  He cited that SPTC has been winning all national competitions, be it school examinations, health competitions and local authority competitions in which the council always excelled. Meanwhile, residents welcomed the new Local Government Act which legally recognises Village Development Committees.

Under the new law, VDCs are legal entities that can sue or be sued. They  also have the power to seek financial assistance through the aid of the council. Residents said the decision would enable VDCs to take legal action against those who default on rentals. On other issues, residents appealed to council to consider including a budget for the demolition of existing pit latrines as they introduce water system toilets.

They said pit latrines provide a safe haven for rats that pose a health threat to the community. They also urged the local authority to monitor programmes like Scorpion, Ipelegeng and volunteer police services to ensure that they deliver their services. They also expressed the need for a 24-hour clinic in Botshabelo and said that the fact that there are no revenue collectors at the clinic defeats efforts by government to collect revenue.