By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – Frustration ran high on Wednesday when residents from across the Thabo Mofutsanyana District were denied a full opportunity to air their grievances after a stakeholder engagement with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) was cut short due to time constraints.
Community members from Dihlabeng, Maluti-a-Phofung, Mantsopa, Nketoana and Setsoto packed the Phuthaditjhaba Multipurpose Hall on 20 November, hoping to raise long-standing concerns over collapsing water and sanitation systems, stalled infrastructure projects, rampant drug abuse and soaring unemployment.
The chairperson of the NCOP delegation, Bheki Radebe, told residents the visit was intended to gather facts and provide support in the critical area of water and sanitation.
“This is not a fault-finding mission. We are here to find the facts and offer support,” Radebe said.
But residents were left disappointed when the session ended abruptly, cutting short their chance to detail urgent service-delivery failures.
Maluti-a-Phofung resident Master Serowe criticised the decision to cluster five municipalities into one engagement, saying it silenced communities facing deepening crises.
He highlighted a decade-long water shortage in Mabolela near the local clinic.
“There is a community that hasn’t received water for a decade. We even lost an elderly woman in Kgabisi who died while fetching water from the river,” Serowe said.
“How can we unpack issues from five municipalities in one meeting?”Concerns over decaying and incomplete infrastructure dominated the engagement.
Nketoana resident Majola Dumezweni said outdated infrastructure continues to collapse while new projects either stall or fall victim to criminality.
“We are still relying on old apartheid infrastructure. Projects start but are seldom completed. Tender mafias are a real issue in our community,” said Dumezweni.
Nketoana ward committee member Jonas Motaung warned that unpaid workers on abandoned projects are fuelling resentment and could trigger protests.
“There is a reservoir project that is incomplete, and workers have not been paid. We asked the Department of Water and Sanitation to intervene with no success. Communities will start rejecting projects if this continues,” he said.
NCOP delegate Pitso Noe acknowledged the depth of the district’s challenges and encouraged residents to submit written grievances to ensure their concerns are fully captured.
“Written submissions will assist in addressing the issue of limited engagement time,” Noe said.
Despite the tense atmosphere, residents expressed hope that future NCOP visits will allow for deeper dialogue, and deliver concrete action to resolve years of failing services.
