WATCH: Mayoral imbizo met with despondency

Kwa-Thema – The City of Ekurhuleni’s Mayoral Imbizo was disrupted when residents learned that the mayor would not be in attendance at Kwa-Thema Community Hall, on Wednesday evening.

Although Ald Sivuyile Ngodwana and Ald Jongizizwe Dlabathi were present to address the community, many in the audience only wanted to speak to the mayor, Nkosindiphile Xhakaza. The group of disgruntled members started singing and made their way to the podium.

‘Poqo’, who introduced himself as a community leader, took the microphone and announced that the meeting had been adjourned.

“The mayor always does this to us. He does not respect us and our time. We have many grievances and it seems like he does not want to listen to us.

“That is why he is sending other people instead of coming here himself. That is why we will stop this meeting until he comes,” he said.

Although many others agreed with Poqo, many more remained seated and were willing to proceed with the imbizo.

After almost an hour of chaos, the disgruntled group left the venue and order was restored. Ngodwana then explained that as members of the mayoral committee, they are representatives of the mayor at such gatherings.

Therefore, residents can rest assured that the mayor will receive a full report of every concern that is brought forward.

“One of our main priorities is the issue of hijacked buildings. We are working to get them back and renovate them so that they can benefit our people. We are still focusing on the revenue enhancement programme, which encourages residents to pay their municipal rates.

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The crowd refused to listen to any of the representatives sent by Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza to the Mayoral Imbizo at Kwa-Thema Hall. #KwaThema #ekurhuleni #MayoralImbizo

♬ original sound – African Reporter – African Reporter

“This is important because everything that the city plans to do needs money to be achieved. This includes general maintenance and restoring our roads,” he explained.

Ngodwana also said that the promised university in Ekurhuleni is still a work in progress. In response, some of the residents claimed that the councillors did not come back with proper feedback from their last imbizo.

In the previous sitting, residents proposed a flat rate towards rates and taxes, citing that many residents are unemployed and cannot afford to pay their current rates. Residents also demanded write-offs for historical municipal debt, which many families are struggling with. In some instances, families have two municipal accounts for the same property.

One account records the historical debt and the other records current debt. All the residents were encouraged to write down their concerns, which will be presented to the mayor.

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The crowd erupted in song as soon as MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi announced that the mayor of Ekurhuleni Nkosindiphile Xhakaza would not be attending the Mayoral Imbizo at Kwa-Thema Hall on the evening of November 20. People demanded to speak directly to the mayor. #KwaThema #ekurhuleni #MayoralImbizo

♬ original sound – African Reporter – African Reporter