IFP spokesperson on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, MP Peter Smith has made calls on the executive mayor of the city of Tshwane to urgently meet with the protesting residents of Ekangala near Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria.
Smith said; “The mayor must meet with the residents. By not meeting them he not only shows disrespect but also incompetence and cowardliness. If the mayor cannot or will not hear and attend to the grievances of the people who elected him to office he must resign immediately. What use is a leader who is afraid to face his own people or own up to his own incompetence?”
The IFP has also called on the ANC to conduct a performance assessment of all the municipalities it controls around the country, and to deal equally decisively with those failing to perform.
“Although the IFP doesn’t condone any form of violence, it understands the frustration and plight of the Ekangala residents and hopes that their grievances are heard and attended to before these protests spiral further out of control. The provincial government must learn to listen and act when people raise their concerns and grievances. This will discourage residents from embarking in violent protests in order to get government’s attention, which can also sometimes lead to the unnecessary loss of life” concluded Smith.
The IFP encourages all Gauteng municipalities to deliver on their promises and to stop deceiving citizens with false promises which they have no intention of fulfilling.
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