Businessmen and residents have expressed their disappointment at the government of Limpopo for failing to honour its promise to relocate the Sekhukhune District municipality offices from Lebowakgomo to their area.
Now they are planning for a protest action dubbed Sekhukhune District Shut Down Mass Action next month.
Mashupye Masemola, who was tasked by the Sekhukhune District Office Relocation Movement (SDORM) to mobilise the concerned residents for the mass action scheduled for June 18, said residents needed to head to the municipality to deal with matters relating to basic services such as water and sanitation, electricity, waste management and the development and maintenance of basic road and stormwater infrastructure, law enforcement, traffic fines, the fire department and health.
“The closer the municipality is to the people, the easier because municipal officials will be able to fix their problems with no hassle,” said Masemola.
The concerned residents told Sunday World that the first person to make promises about the relocation was Ngoako Ramatlhodi when he was Limpopo premier in 1994.
The provincial premiers who came after him also made the same promises but failed to relocate the offices, eventually resulting in 31 years of broken promises.
“There are some people within the Sekhukhune area who travel more than 150km to access the offices in Lebowakgomo, something which is uncalled for because it’s more like we are being serviced by another district while we are a district on our own,” said Mashupye Masemola, who was tasked by the Sekhukhune District Office Relocation Movement (SDORM) to mobilise the concerned residents for the mass action scheduled for June 18.
Masemola said that on the shutdown day, SDORM will stop all the service rendering at their district office to make a strong statement in their quest for their grievances to be attended to.
Masemola said it doesn’t make sense as to why the government is so adamant about relocating the offices because they don’t even have to buy any land for the construction of the offices because the Bapedi ba Mamone Traditional Council in the Makhudu Thamaga Municipality has made the land for this purpose as early as the early 90s.
The Sekhukhune District offices is said to have 13 district departments with a huge number of employees who collectively account for over R2 billion in expenditure, which must benefit the district residents through jobs and some administration purposes. “The relocating will bring the offices closer to the people of Sekhukhune, reducing travel costs and frustrations for all government employees and residents while making it sustainable living of all the people,” added Masemola.
He said: “The planned Shut Sekhukhune District Offices mass action next month is our last resort to have our offices in our own district. This is long overdue, as nothing has happened despite our positive meeting with then CoGHSTA MEC, Makoma Makhurupetja, and intervention by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recommended that the offices be relocated in recent years.”
In her State of the Province Address a few months ago, Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathoba promised that among her mammoth tasks in the provincial government’s priorities is to: “Make sure that Sekhukhune District Offices are relocated from Lebowakgomo and taken back to their place of origin because, for example, they can’t afford a situation where a health official travels from Praktiseer clinic, which is more than 150 km away to bring some important forms to be signed in another district (Capricorn). It remains to be seen as to what impact the planned Sekhukhune Shut Down will bring forth come June 18.
