Durban - Community members of Wembezi VQ Section in Estcourt, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, wasted little time in telling ANC NEC member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma that they felt neglected by the party they had voted into power hoping it would service their needs.
Community members told Dlamini Zuma that the ANC snubs their service delivery needs and only resurfaces during election season to canvas for votes.
Dlamini Zuma hit the campaign in the farming Midlands town on Sunday where she visited Wembezi township to initially embark on a door-to-door campaign, but ended up holding a community meeting in an open veld as the ANC delegation was running behind schedule.
At the top of the agenda for most community members was the sub-standard and dilapidated RDP housing, intermittent water supply and a lack of proper roads. They also voiced their displeasure that local leaders were not responsive to their plight.
Mjabuliseni Mlambo, a resident of the area, told Dlamini Zuma that he had become so fed up with being given the run around by local ANC leaders in relation to his poorly constructed RDP house that he almost resorted to violence to get his way, which almost resulted in his arrest.
“We tell our leaders problems we are facing but they don’t attend to our issues. But today they come here with you to give us false hope because they are desperate for our votes.
“I have lived in my two-roomed house for over two years while they are fixing it, but how can you fix a simple two-roomed house for two and a half years?
“Minister, it’s not that we don’t love the ANC, we love the party, but the people we vote into power are untruthful and the leaders in charge of these housing projects are also not truthful,” Mlambo lamented.
Gugu Mswane, also of the Wembezi VQ Section, complained about her own RDP house, saying that even leaning on the house’s wall was a danger as it been poorly constructed, adding that she has had to fork out money from her own pocket to fix the constructor’s poor work.
“Minister, it cannot be that the government is trying to help us as poor people who have nothing but then we get played by people who don’t want to do their jobs properly. This is not an individual person’s money we are talking about, it is taxpayers money. Please build us quality houses, not incomplete houses which we then have to complete ourselves.
“I am asking the ANC to love its people, I know an ANC that truly loves its people and making things happen for them. There are many comrades who died here so that we can get development in this area, ” Mswane said.
Dlamini Zuma apologised to the residents for the lack of quality and speedy service, saying that although they were not perfect as a party they would still try to rectify their mistakes and work.
NEC: Cde Nkosazana Dlamini - Zuma addressing community at Estcourt Multipurpose Center in Inkosi Langalibalele Sub region of Josiah Gumede. She encouraged people to make use of the last day of open voter registration weekend to #RegisterToVoteANC #bhaliselaukuvota pic.twitter.com/nbjGZFAhku
— ANCKZN (@ANCKZN) September 19, 2021
National Mikister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma arriving in Ward 9 in Wembezi, Estcourt for an engagement with community members.
Video:@JehranD @IOL pic.twitter.com/jRLfwWgaUr
The issue of the poorly constructed houses would be attended to, she said, and a delegation would be sent to inspect the condition of the houses. This, so that when they present the grievances to the Department of Human Settlements they also have evidence to back up the community’s grievances.
“In the coming days the mayors and councillors will come, having spoken to the contractor and all other relevant people, and give you feedback on the way forward. The ANC is a listening organisation, a caring organisation,” Dlamini Zuma said.
Political Bureau