Human Rights Commission Investigates Makana Municipality Amid Service Delivery Crisis in Makhanda

• The residents of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape have lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding service delivery failures
• The Makana Local Municipality said that it will not be held ransom by the residents of Makhanda
• This comes amid ongoing tensions between the community, private security, and police over illegal land occupations

Tensions continue to flare between residents of Makhanda and their local municipality. The Eastern Cape residents said the Makana Local Municipality has failed to provide basic services, yet now seeks to evict them from unoccupied land.

Makhanda residents fed up with local municipality

The residents said that the municipality is unable to provide them with basic service delivery. They said that the Makana municipality now also wants to evict them from the occupied land. The resident said that it was written by the council in 2019 that they were occupying a human settlement area.

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The residents insist that the municipality allows them to build on the land. They said that they are being treated like criminals by the Makana municipality.

Municipality appears before Human Rights Commission

The residents took their anger to the Human Rights Commission. The Makana municipality appeared before the Human Rights Commission over service delivery failures. Residents say it has been a year, and nothing has changed.

The Human Rights Commission said that it provided the municipality with the opportunity to share their plans. The commission said that it had to subpoena the municipality again after it failed to implement actions.

Municipality responds to allegations

The municipality said that it is not in a mess. The municipal manager, Pumelelo Kate, said that they are facing challenges just like any other local municipality. He said that the municipality is facing challenges in providing basic water consistently for all the communities in Makhanda.

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Kate has issued a stern warning to the residents about occupying land illegally. He said that the residents are not their rightful owners of the land they are demanding.

What you need to know about service delivery in SA

• President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged that the Government of National Unity would endeavour to improve delivering services.
• Panyaza Lesufi promised that the African National Congress (ANC) would focus on service delivery.
• Dr Moya passionately explained that she was there to bring stability to council and ensure service delivery for all residents.
• eThekwini’s ability to carry out basic operations has come to a standstill after Konica Minolta pulled the plug on municipal printing services.
• Newly appointed KwaZulu-Natal's MEC for Finance, Francois Rodgers, told Briefly News that MECs must remember to serve the people.

Bothaville residents embark on service delivery protest

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In a previous report, Briefly News stated that residents of Khutsong-Bothaville in the Free State have taken to the streets in protest over poor service delivery.

Demonstrators blocked roads and burned tyres while calling for the removal of the mayor, municipal manager, and chief financial officer. Community leaders said they have been protesting for nearly a year, but their grievances remain unresolved.

Source: Briefly News