This, after the municipality was marred with allegations of maladministration and mismanagement of funds amid the height of violent protests that continued in the towns of Kroonstad and Steynsrus since last week. 

Residents in these towns went on the rampage over poor services and a lack of job opportunities, amongst other issues. 

The protests that gained momentum since April 11, saw several state and private properties being vandalised in addition to trucks, two municipal vehicles and a post office that were set alight.

The police have since arrested groups of protesters in these two towns, of whom 11 are from Kroonstad and five are from Steynsrus and are set to appear in court today while 53 people are set to appear for a bail application on April the 24th. 

Municipal spokesperson, Dika Kheswa, says the municipality has extended a hand to the community to find out the underlying cause of the protests and redress some of the issues faced by the municipality, despite not having received a memorandum of demands from the protesters.

He adds that the demands raised by the residents have been circulating on social media without formally being brought to the attention of the municipality and that the residents have thus far refused to meet the municipality on grounds that they intend to escalate their concerns about the municipality to the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Kheswa mentions that some of the aftermaths of the protests for the municipality are that they are battling to provide services such as refuse removal, and sewer spillages. He, nonetheless, says the municipality is committed to addressing service delivery issues experienced by its residents.

“From time to time we encounter issues with water outages and sewage spillages due to aging infrastructure, amongst other issues, but we always attend to them and can assure the public that we are constantly working towards improving services.”

Kheswa says the municipality has appointed a service delivery delegate team, that is responsible for monitoring the municipality’s turnaround time on its strategy to address issues relating to water, electricity, and road infrastructure, amongst other issues included in their turnaround strategy.

The municipality is further calling for calm and urges residents to refrain from taking the law into their hands.

OFM News