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Matjhabeng Local Municipality has transformed into a service delivery nightmare for its residents. Initially, the delays in services were merely an inconvenience for residents, stemming from either the lack of services or poorly executed efforts by officials. However, due to the municipality's poor financial management and the executive leadership's political grandstanding, residents now find themselves in a life-threatening situation, with the administration in absolute dismay.

Last week, Odendaalsrus experienced electricity interruptions caused by a cable that burned due to crumbling infrastructure resulting from the lack of regular maintenance. Residents of De Kock & Van Der Walt Street in Odendaalsrus had to endure a three day wait for their electricity to be restored, as the only functional cherry picker had to be brought in from Ventersburg. Unfortunately, some residents still faced outages, and a trench across De Kock Street was left open.

Reports from residents indicate that the trench poses a danger to road users and pupils from Odensia Primary School, situated right next to it. The municipality neglected to close the trench or install any warning signs to alert people of its inaccessibility, especially at night when visibility is compromised due to the lack of streetlights. This has resulted in at least one vehicle accident.

Despite repeated warnings from the Democratic Alliance during council sittings, both the Executive Mayor and Municipal Manager have overlooked the financial crisis and overall disarray within the municipality. The situation has now escalated to the point where residents' lives are endangered due to the municipality's inability to perform essential tasks for service delivery.

We will formally address the Municipal Manager, insisting that those responsible face the consequences for failing to implement adequate measures to ensure the community's safety around the site where electricity was restored. The DA is committed to taking immediate action to resolve this pressing issue and safeguard the well-being of Matjhabeng residents.

Issued by Dr Igor Scheurkogel - DA Caucus Leader Matjhabeng Local Municipality