Blood flows during march

What was planned as a peaceful march for better service delivery in Lephalale turned out to be a violent clash between march organisers and supporters of the Mayor of Lephalale, Jack Maeko. At least eight people were rushed to hospital on Wednesday morning when a mob of alleged Maeko supporters called the Majammogo group attacked participants of the march with pangas, stones and sticks.
A resident of MaMojela Park who was beaten with a stick as she arrived at the Sasol garage to join the march, told Northern News that residents are unhappy about service delivery at the informal settlement. “We do not have toilets and under Maeko’s leadership the municipality is no longer providing potable water.”
Maeko denies this and insists that water is delivered to MaMojela park twice a week and that the application for the formalisation of the settlement has been lodged with GoGHSTA.
The two opposing groups marched to the Municipality where the larger group sang songs in praise of Maeko and the smaller, led by what seems to be one of two SANCO groups in Lephalale, handed over a memorandum to the Mayor. The marchers demanded better service delivery and the end of corruption and maladministration at the municipality. “You deliberately ignore the chaotic state of the sewage management system at Mamojela Park. You mislead the community of Kauletsi on payment of water rates, leaving them with no water in the village,” said Baleseng Seleme of Sanco.
In the memorandum Sanco demands the removal of the municipal manager, Bob Naidoo, the suspension of the municipal CFO, Charles Lekaka, and the resignation of the mayor for allegedly promoting corruption.
The Lephalale chamber of commerce, chaired by Wayne Derksen, called on businesses on Tuesday to join the march in support of Sanco.
The mayor in turn called upon Isaac Mohahola, organising secretary of SANCO’s Lephalale zone to address the crowd. He explained that SANCO has been duplicated in the region and that the “real” SANCO is distancing itself from the march. Under the leadership of M Seleka SANCO will peacefully engage with the municipality on the issue of service delivery, he said. - Valerie Cilliers and Tebogo Tlhako