MapTimes has reliably been informed about the possible mass action against the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BBR LM). The Bushbuckridge community is currently planning to render Bushbuckridge ungovernable in a near future, if their demands are not met. Preparations for protests are being finalized and a mass rally is due for this Sunday, March 14th at Greenvalley Soccer Field. Thousands of community members are expected to attend the rally in support of the mass action.The community is calling for Mayor Milton Morema's removal as the mayor and all the Mayoral Committee members to step down. The community is angry about the mayor’s continuous failure to deliver basic services such as water, roads and housing to the needy. They accuse the municipality to have failed on many instances in delivering these basic services to the community and its nepotism on providing jobs to the deserving.
Amongst other community complaints are unfinished Greenvalley to Salique Estates road tarring, Morele road maintenance and the Champaign Project which was completed in 1997 but not utilized. Both projects have already cost the tax payers millions of rands and yet the community claims to have not benefited directly.
The Bushbuckridge community has already marched twice this year in an attempt to submit their memorandum to the offices of the mayor and the premier David Mabuza respectively. Although all their grievances fell into deaf ears in the Mpumalanga Province, the community is now threatening to take it up to Union Building in Pretoria if the mayor and his committee do not step down with immediate effect.
Amongst the march organizers are Bushbuckridge tribal authority Chiefs, Headmen and women who feel that their authorities are being neglected at local level. One of the March organizers Delta Mokoena, said that over 100 buses will be organized to ferry the masses to Pretoria.
It is alleged that Morema had previously mobilized South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) members and other Municipal employees for a counter-march against the community. It is also alleged that jobs are given to the mayor’s allies who are not capable to deliver their mandates, except to misuse state funds.
Mokoena said “When we marched previously we expected the mayor to acknowledge our Memorandums, except he decided to march against the community. “The Bushbuckridge community can no longer tolerate this kind of behavior and negligence in service delivery, this time we are going to march up to President (Jacob) Zuma’s office in Union Buildings.”
Further attempts to get BBR LM Mayor Milton Morema’s comment failed, as several calls on his cellphone were unattended. The community's outcry is mainly poor service delivery, the mayor’s underperformance and the municipality's inadequate financial accountability. The protest is likely to take place from this weekend.
