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Ekurhuleni Mayor apologises to Tembisa residents for not addressing them in time

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Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell has apologised to Tembisa residents for not addressing them in time.

Earlier in the week, Tembisa residents went on the rampage torching municipal buildings and vehicles.

Four people lost their lives in the protests. They have been protesting over rates and taxes which they say are exorbitant.

Campbell has promised residents that all their grievances will be attended to.

She says, “I want to apologise for not coming to address you earlier. However, I wanted to make sure that what I’m bringing here is tangible and they are solution driven and they are not lip-service to you. We have been working tirelessly to find an amicable solution to address all the issues that you have raised.”

Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell addressing Tembisa residents:

Basic services

On Tuesday, Campbell said they have had to reduce the free basic services to the community after the national Treasury had cut budget allocations to the municipality during the previous African National Congress (ANC) dispensation in the area.

Campbell said the new cost-cutting measures were only implemented after the Democratic Alliance (DA) took over following the municipal elections last November.

Campbell says she will now engage with the Gauteng Premier David Makhura in trying to get more funds from National Treasury.

“We would have to go into discussions to see if we could get extra funds from National Treasury to be able to reinstitute it. But currently, we can not do that with the budget that we have been given. But there are different platforms that we have provided and one of them that we brought in as the new administration, is the debt relief policy to assist people with outstanding debt that have been there for years,” adds Campbell.

Tembisa Protest | Plan of action by Gauteng, Ekurhuleni officials to address community’s concerns:

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