The Inkatha Freedom Party is disgusted that the Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province is discriminating against people along political lines when it comes to provision of essential services such as water supply and provision of housing.
“I have been visiting different areas of Mpumalanga over the past few days and am shocked that people of Ward 7 in Mayflower which is in the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality under the Gert Sibande District, are without water supply and only receive some water from a truck and even this is not reliable. It is totally unacceptable that citizens of our country should be treated like this while we are into 21 years of democracy. Water is a basic right that can never be denied to people and municipalities have a constitutional duty to ensure that people receive a reliable supply of clean, drinkable water. The failure by the municipality must be seen as criminal in the extreme and the mayor and his officials must be held accountable”, said IFP National Chairman Mr Blessed Gwala MPL.
“Ward 7 is the only ward in Mpumalanga Province that is under the control of an IFP councillor and in my view this is the reason that the people of this ward are being treated in this manner. IFP Ward councillor Mr Thembinkosi Zulu has been working hard to get reliable water supply to the people of the ward but his efforts are being blocked. People I have spoken to also complain that houses are only provided to those who can prove that they are ANC members,” continued Mr Gwala.
“This is unacceptable as it borders on political bias and as the IFP we will not remain silent about this matter. There must be no such thing as second class citizens in our country because the constitution is clear that we are all equal and have right to basic services such as water and decent housing. We will be taking this matter up with the mayor and with the National Minister through our Members of Parliament”, concluded Mr Gwala.
