The residents of  the Vuwani area are optimistic that the current “lack of service delivery” will soon be a thing of the past in all the villages affected.

This comes after the Vuwani Development Task Team eventually received a response from the office of Pres Jacob Zuma. The president's office liaised with the Limpopo premier's office, who then deployed the general manager of service delivery improvement, Mr Ike Thema.

“We met with the task team and all role players within the government,” said Thema. “We agreed that we were going to forge a working relationship to address the challenges of service delivery within the communities.”

The task team was established in 2009 after the community members realised that it was important to forge a way of peaceful engagement with local and district municipalities, the office of the premier and the national government, to make sure that their concerns on the lack of service delivery were heard and attended to.

Ever since then, several peaceful marches and demonstrations have been staged under the auspices of the Vuwani Development Task Team, where memorandums of concern where handed to the Makhado Municipality's Vuwani Regional Office.

“Each time we strove to be heard, but they weren't ready to give us an ear,” said the task team's chairperson, Mr Velly Mtileni. “We spoke with the provincial government, but they closed their ears to our cries. That's the reason why we decided to let the president know about our cries for service delivery. Our government must understand that the task team is not an arm or extension of any political party formed to advance personal glory.”

The task team had been requesting the government, and mainly the Makhado Municipality, to consider opening up, grading or even tarring some roads which serve as major links between villages. Other concerns include water and sanitation, development of Vuwani township as an industrial zone and reputable town, and the sewerage system.

“A mall has been approved, but construction has not started so far,” Mtileni said. “We need a health centre and secondary school of our own. We further need electricity installed at all new units within our villages.”

According to Mtileni, a delegation from the Makhado Municipality was present at Friday's meeting, among them Cllr Shonisani Sinyosi (portfolio head: technical services and infrastructure).

The villages which the task team represents are, but not limited to, Ha-Davhana (Balanganani), Tshimbupfe, Hanani, Ngwekhulu, Sundani, Malonga, Vyeboom, Vuwani Township, Vuu, Masia, and N'wamatatani.