Residents of Chaneng and Robega villages, near Rustenburg, North West, have raised concerns about the poor delivery of services in their villages. African National Congress (ANC) national chairperson Gwede Mantashe is campaigning in the area this weekend.
Next Wednesday, a by-election will be held in the area where an ANC councillor died early this year, living the post vacant.
The villages are surrounded by mining operations, but unemployment amongst the youth is high. The residents also decry a lack of service delivery. They say they live in poverty despite being in a mineral-rich area.
“The big problem around Robega is the road and we are asking the government to help us with roads,” says one resident.
Another adds, “The problem that we are faced with in the area. We as the people from other areas like Eastern Cape cannot find jobs but if you want to be hired you have to be from the area.”
“We want the government to assist us with houses so that we can be able to share because we are fighting at our homes.”
Meanwhile, Mantashe has acknowledged that there are service delivery challenges in the area. But he says unemployment should be made a priority.
“One of the biggest complaints is that there are too many people who are not from the area who are employed but we had to explain to them that there is a difference between the outsiders and South Africans. So you cannot compare South African people because they are from various provinces. Let’s check how many South Africans in that mine and how many non-South African are then you can talk about those ratios, is a process issue that needs to be followed up.”
