Residents from many towns of the Free State are complaining about the poor state of roads, jobs and government services.
They have gathered inside marquees at the Dr Rantlai Petrus Molemela stadium in Bloemfontein to interact with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the challenges they face in the province.
President @CyrilRamaphosa arrives at Vereeniging Ave Interchange where there is bridge construction and is received by Premier Ntombela, Minister @DlaminiZuma, Minister @MondliGungubel_, Cllr Siyonzana and guided through the project. #PresidentialImbizo pic.twitter.com/c66oHtq3Ak
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) April 9, 2022
The cold weather did not prevent them from coming to the Presidential imbizo to raise their concerns.
#PresidentialImbizo Citizens request the intervention of Government in resolving a wide range of issues confronting their communities #LeaveNoOneBehind ?? pic.twitter.com/lLXielROU2
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) April 9, 2022
The video below is the live stream of the Presidential Imbizo in the Free State:
Meanwhile, Cabinet has decided to put the Mangaung municipality under national administration after a series of governance failures and financial mismanagement.
The Mangaung municipality is one of the country’s eight metros that has failed on multiple fronts. It was placed under the provincial administration in 2019 after failing to implement a financial recovery plan from the previous year. But the situation worsened forcing the national government to take charge of its administration.
Residents say service delivery is almost non-existent with intermittent water cuts, roads in a state of disrepair and refusal taking weeks if not months.
President Ramaphosa is worried and vows to turn things around. Several Ministers will be on the ground this morning as a build-up to the president’s visit.
VIDEO | Mangaung Municipality placed under national administration:
