Deliver services, don’t faction

THE ANC’s Polokwane Conference has changed the political environment from stable to unstable in South Africa.

The adoption of two power camps (the Mbeki camp and the Zuma camp) contributes significantly to the division of the ANC throughout South Africa.

This shifted completely the minds of our political leaders from prioritising the needs of the people. They spent their time on political issues and were more interested in who is going to be the next president, at the expense of the will of the poor.

Councillors in particular should not engage themselves in political matters that can derail service delivery in their wards. The involvement of our councillors in factioning and political crises promotes and even creates tensions among ward residents.

Some political leaders who use ordinary poor unemployed people in their areas of jurisdiction for their own political benefit.

Ward 92 is a practical example, where people Z especially the unemployed young and old people Z are used as an instrument by political leaders to further their own political interests.

As someone who resides in Ward 92, I personally observed how our Councillor manipulated and became a champion of the creation of the division and conflict between ANC members.

As a result, our wards, specifically Ward 92, has been affected by marches and protests against the Councillor.

For example, the people of TR Section from Ward 92 in Khayelitsha (Site B) have expressed their frustration and anger at not getting decent houses and adequate sanitation from government.

They cry that they waited for so long for their turn to get houses as they were promised by the Department of Local Government and Housing.

They also accuse their Councillor of not showing any interest in their issues. Instead, the Councillor involves herself in political factioning within the ANC.

As I said, the TR Section in Ward 92’s protest is a practical example of how political instability within the ANC as a ruling party creates unnecessary conflict in our areas with our councillors. Of course, this will impact negatively on service delivery in our communities.

Unfortunately, as it has been shown in the case of TR Section in Ward 92, when people are denied what has been officially promised to them, they tend to take the law into their hands.

Surely this is not the direction that the government, the Councillor of Ward 92 and other concerned institutions would prefer?

I want to stress that councillors and political leaders must not use or divide people for their own political benefit. Instead, they should encourage service delivery.

People deserve to be respected as they voted for these political leaders to be in parliament or to become councillors.

Some community members from Ward 92 were arrested last week only because they protested against the Ward Councillor.

It is frustrating to hear from residents that if you do not belong to the Zuma camp or Mbeki camp, you are in a danger of not being assisted by a councillor, who might not belong to your camp.

This is disturbing as it goes against the rule of law in South Africa.

People should be assisted in their wards irrespective of their individual political affiliations and backgrounds.

I think people must be educated so that they are properly able to understand their rights as citizens of the Republic of South Africa. They must also be educated about what it means to be a South African citizen in their wards.

The poor are the ones who are directly affected by this ongoing political factioning and instability within the ruling party.

Leaders must stop wasting their time, and ours, on political matters that may negatively impact service delivery to our communities.

. Simphiwe Tsawu lives in Ward 92. He writes in his own capacity and does not represent any political organisation. You can contact him on 072 184 7144 or mpiwe@mailbox.co.za