The ANC tries to make amends in Kagiso Ward 19

The African National Congress in Mogale City hosted a public meeting at Matlhasedi Primary School in Kagiso 2 to hear and establish the different grievances expressed by the community about the little to no services in Ward 19.

The meeting was attended by the ANC leadership from local, regional, to provincial government. The Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Mr. Mpho Modise and Mayor of the Rand West Municipality Cllr. William Matsheke were among those who attended.  

MMC for housing in Mogale City, Cllr. Merriam Mogoje explained, “The reason we are here is to talk to you and get advice from you regarding the complaints you have and what we intend to do thereafter.”

Cllr. William Matsheke further explained, “The ANC leadership is here because the branch and regional leadership told us that there were issues that the community wanted to talk about. We are not here to address you but to give you a chance to talk to us.”

The community members were then given the platform to express their complains and criticisms. The Regional Secretary, Mr. Mkhuseli Jokazi chaired the session. Some of the issues included:

• The lack of youth programmes in the community.
• No services in Ward 19.
• Ward 19 Cllr not active and unavailable when needed by the community.
• Housing, which was the most common issue. People applied for houses from as far as 1996. Some of them discovered that the houses that were supposedly allocated to them were occupied by other people.
• Food parcels was also another big complaint. Most of the speakers complained that food parcels were received by some and not others.
• Unemployment and the cut off age of 35 years.
• Drugs affecting people in the community.
• Indigents. They wanted to know the proper processes of applying and who the service is intended for.

It was then resolved that Cllr. Mogoje would deal with issues regarding housing. Cllr. Matsheke then responded to other issues. “As the ANC we take criticism because we are a party that listens to the people.”

He then explained that the ANC lost power in Mogale City since 2016 which affected some of the services they used to render to the people. They are now in a coalition and sit on opposition benches. “We are not saying that the ANC hasn’t made mistakes. We accept that we have made some mistakes and that is why we saw the need to renew ourselves.”

All the issues by the community members were addressed. The groceries issues will be investigated and resolved. Ward 19 Cllr’s allegations by the community will also be investigated.

“We will attend to the issue of unemployment. With regards to the food parcels, we are committing ourselves to coming back to you. The process of allocation will be free and fair. MEC Maile will be notified about the housing issues.” Cllr. And Mayor Matsheke promised.

In his conclusion, the mayor pleaded with the people to vote for the ANC once more. “Please give us the last chance.” He said.