Note to Editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Cllr Ntombi Mokoena and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Phumelela Local Municipality (PLM) is taking urgent action to compel the ANC-led administration to immediately provide bulk water and electricity infrastructure to the recognised new sites in the “10,000” section of Thembalihle.
Despite being formally acknowledged in the municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) (2022–2027) and Annual Report (2023/2024), the “10,000” section remains without essential services. Families are forced to live without dignity, relying on irregular water tanker deliveries and having no access to basic municipal electricity.
Families forced to occupy these sites receive only inadequate weekly water tanker deliveries and have no access to basic municipal electricity, despite the land being formally recognised.
The DA maintains that the failure to connect this community is an outright act of municipal negligence. The ANC-led Phumelela fails to optimally serve Thembalihle’s future; the municipality spends millions on infrastructure projects in other areas, yet the “10,000” section remains unfunded and unlisted for bulk connections in the Capital Expenditure Tables.
This is not a delay but an active denial of fundamental constitutional rights that strips residents of their human dignity. The party asserts that the IDP is a mere paper promise that the PLM is intentionally failing to implement for this community.
To resolve this contradiction and stop the ongoing negligence, the DA demands that the Mayor and Municipal Manager immediately publish a clear, funded, and non-negotiable timeline for the installation of the bulk water and electricity connections for the Thembalihle “10,000” section.
Furthermore, the DA calls for an urgent skills audit and the immediate removal of all incompetent officials and managers responsible for infrastructure planning, financial mismanagement, and the non-delivery to new areas.
The systemic failure to bridge the gap between promises on paper and services on the ground is a core injustice that the opposition party will fight until the constitutional right to dignity is restored to the families of Thembalihle.