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“There was no reason to declare dispute, we’re in control”
News Date: 19 September 2008
A lot has been said in recent weeks about the dispute declared between the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association (SRA) and the Makhado Municipality. The dispute was declared when the SRA decided that service delivery in Louis Trichardt had reached the point where residents could no longer put up with the municipality’s apparent disregard for attending to their pleas for improvement.
In direct contrast to this view is that of the municipality, by voice of its official spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi. Zoutpansberger approached him this week to get some clarity on the municipality’s official stance on the matter.
Bobodi said the municipality regrets the fact that the SRA has chosen to follow this route, saying that the SRA should have exhausted all other avenues to resolve the problem before going the route of declaring a dispute. Concerning the municipality’s response to the specific issues raised by the SRA, Bobodi indicated that the municipality has always regarded the association as an important stakeholder and that it is serious about addressing the concerns raised. Administratively, the municipality is trying its best to attend all the matters, and politically, the executive committee (Exco) will attend to the issue of the dispute.
As far as negotiation with the SRA is concerned, the municipality has no immediate plans to enter into talks with the association, but Bobodi indicated that all repairs and maintenance to infrastructure occur according to a definite plan.
“You must understand that some of these things cannot happen overnight,” he said, but added that the municipality has made some progress. He cited the road to Eltivillas from the four-way stop on the N1 as an example. The road was recently repaired and resealed. He added that a contractor had been appointed to deal with the roads in town, for which an amount of R16 million had been set aside. The work will apparently commence soon.
Bobodi also indicated that he did not believe that the matter would progress to the point that taxes will be withheld. He is certain that the SRA’s grievances will be addressed through negotiation by the stakeholders involved.
“We have to engage each other to solve these problems,” he said. He would therefore not speculate on how the withholding of taxes would impact on the municipality. He reiterated that the municipality follows an open-door policy for the public to come and voice their concerns and to find a solution.
In reaction to Bobodi’s statements, the chairman of the SRA, Mr Herman Smith, said that it was ironic that the municipality regretted the declaration of the dispute which was caused by their own poor management and incompetence. He describes the dispute as a defensive act by residents against a hostile municipality that has allowed the condition of the town to go to ruin and has consistently ignored all efforts by residents to hold them accountable. He adds that residents have grown tired of trying to engage the Council in dialogue.
“Bi-monthly plenary meetings with directors of the municipality would have prevented this situation. The suspended municipal manager, Ms Muthambi, honoured these meetings after an agreement was reached with her, but the meetings came to a sudden halt, without any explanations from the Council. We also attach no value to Bobodi’s ‘open-door’ policy; we regard it as rhetoric, full of hidden agendas. If the problems can be solved legally beforehand, we will welcome this, but then taxpayers’ right to participate in the running and decision making of the municipality must be pursued.”
Written by
Nic Hoffmann
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