African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa criticised the Democratic Alliance's (DA) well-known slogan, "where the DA governs, it governs well," highlighting its failure to deliver services to the people of Tshwane.
“This is where the DA claims to govern well. However, I have not witnessed effective governance here. The residents of Tshwane, especially in Mamelodi, are facing significant challenges,” Ramaphosa stated.
Ramaphosa attributed the challenges in Tshwane, particularly in Mamelodi, to the DA.
The Tshwane municipality is under the administration of the DA. Tshwane has experienced a lack of stable governance for over a decade, with residents consistently pointing to its failure to provide essential services.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa led a door-to-door campaign in Mamelodi, reminding and encouraging eligible voters to register to vote for the upcoming 2024 national and provincial elections.
ANC President, Comrade @CyrilRamaphosa leads a door-to-door campaign in Mamelodi, Tshwane. Eligible voters are reminded that voting stations are open until 5pm today.#RegisterToVoteANC
— African National Congress (@MYANC) February 4, 2024
#lamANC pic.twitter.com/CJyDggVQyX
He was joined by ANC Gauteng Provincial Chair and Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the party’s Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina.
This was the second and last day of the second voter registration weekend.
It was the last voter registration weekend as they headed to the polls.
Residents used the ANC’s campaign trail to tell the president about their frustrations, dissatisfaction, and disappointments of living in a metro that was not prioritising their lives.
The people of Mamelodi complained about service delivery, including water and electricity transformers shortages, filthy streets, raw sewage flowing through the streets as well as crime.
ANC President, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, ANCYL President, Collen Malatji alongside COSAS NTT Convenor, Comrade Unesongo Matikinca are at Mamelodi for door to door encouraging residents to go register to vote.
— ANCYL (@ANCYLhq) February 4, 2024
You can still register to vote, its the last day today.#ANCYLatWork pic.twitter.com/n47AMbp47s
Addressing the media, Ramaphosa said one of the major problems in the DA-run Tshwane was water, adding that it is the municipality’s responsibility to service their people.
“They are the ones who are supposed to clean the township, provide water, and resources, and just make sure that the township functions well,” he said.
He said this was unacceptable for the people in the area to live under those conditions.
However, Ramaphosa promised to address their concerns at a national level and said that Lesufi would also intervene to ensure that the people of Mamelodi were well taken off.
Meanwhile, in May 2023, the community of Hammankraal, Tshwane suffered a devastating blow when the cholera outbreak hit the area.
This follows many years of complaints by residents about water pollution from the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant which led to the crisis.
Residents said they had not been drinking water from their taps for years because it was contaminated.
To help tackle the crisis, Ramaphosa said R4 billion would be allocated to resolve the water challenges in Hammanskraal over three years.
He promised that a temporary water treatment facility would be built to supply clean, quality water to residents, stating that the plant would be ready in six months.
To date nothing has changed, sources told IOL that residents were still exposed to water that was declared unfit for human consumption.
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