ACT bemoans state of poor service delivery in Free State

The African Congress for Transformation (ACT) says it notes the report published by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on the state of service delivery in the Free State.

The recently published report ranks Free State as the worst performing province when it comes to service delivery in the country. The report states that in the Free State, service delivery has collapsed to a point that the residents of the province no longer use the toilets that were built when Ace Magashule was still the Premier of the province, due to problems with water supply.

As a result, the residents of the province have reverted to using the bucket system. Those who are fortunate, often pay R5.00 to use the toilets of neighbours who have running water.

According to the report, the roads in the Free State are in a condition of disuse because of potholes. It further states that raw sewer runs into the rivers causing many residents of the province to suffer from cholera and other related diseases.

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The failure by the municipalities to collect refuse waste has resulted in the rat infestation situation in many municipalities of the provinces causing several health complications for residents. Crime in the province is at an all-time high, with residents, particularly women, fearing to walk in the streets at night.

“It is disheartening that many municipalities in the Free State have not been able to spend their Capex budgets on infrastructure projects mainly because people who are deployed by the ANC in those positions are cronies who do not have skills and experience to run the municipalities,” ACT said in a statement on Monday.

The conditions in the Free State are so dire that residents of the province have opened three criminal cases against three municipalities. SAHRC Commissioner Henk Boshoff decried the state of the province and described it as “human rights violations.”

ACT said it is appalled by the state of decay in the Free State, which a couple of years ago was rated as one of the best performing provinces in the country.

“We call on the residents of the Free State to peacefully take to the streets to show their disdain at the manner the province is being run by the incompetent [Premier] Mxolisi Dukwana and his cabal who are only concerned about amassing wealth for themselves as they come to terms with the reality that ACT will be the governing party in the Free State after the May 29 elections.”

Bloemfontein, a Metro once regarded as one of the cleanest in the country, has deteriorated to such a state that potholes have become a common factor right inside the belly of the capital.

This, ACT added, is an indictment on Dukwana who has “failed to show leadership” in the province, pointing out that under his watch, there has been no accountability for those in government.

“We call on Premier Mxolisi Dukwana to stop with his gambling habits and spending time on the golf course and start to show leadership in the province. It cannot be that under his watch the province has deteriorated to a state that it has surpassed the Eastern Cape on poor service delivery,” ACT said.