Residents of Kimberley say since they took to the streets calling for alleged corruption at the Sol Plaatje Municipality to be dealt with, little has changed.
In 2018, disgruntled community members took part in sporadic protests, which left the city at a standstill for months.
Since the protests, known as the Kimberley shutdown, a new mayor, Patrick Mabilo, has been elected into office.
The Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer were also suspended.
However, the 106-page report into alleged maladministration, which implicated both officials, and revealed financial mismanagement at the municipality, has still not been adopted by the council.
“I am not satisfied after that shutdown, it did not bring any changes and it just brought a lot of mess,” says one resident.
“I would appreciate if we give the new mayor a chance to work. We have faith in him,” adds another resident.
Community leader, Tumelo Mosikare, says there’s still no willpower to deal with corruption decisively at the municipality.
“We are satisfied that the municipality cancelled the R260 and the price of electricity went down but there are still challenges, we have a mayor that is currently all talk and no action. There seems to be no interest in ending corruption in our city,” says Mosikare.
Attempts to get a response from the Sol Plaatje Mayor’s office, on when they will implement the recommendations of the 106-page investigation report into alleged maladministration at the municipality, were unsuccessful.
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