Infrastructure decay worse than you can see, says Ditsobotla mayor

The vandalism of a satellite police station, a community hall and the stadium at a North West township is only a glimpse into a much deeper crisis besieging the area.

This is according to the mayor of Ditsobotla local municipality, Molefe Morutse, who told Sunday Times’ sister publication Sowetan that the state of infrastructure and service delivery was far worse than what the team observed when it went there.

“When you are under section 139(7) of the Constitution, executive powers are being taken away from you,” he said.

The municipality is under administration.

“This thing [infrastructure challenges] is worse than what you see. I think it is an issue of some cartels, especially drug cartels and other thugs. We are also dealing with water and electricity infrastructure that is creating a serious crisis for the municipality. We are always replacing cables,” he said.

“We are experiencing a serious problem. I think we need to deploy the army. Most of the people who are actually vandalising [infrastructure] are people who use drugs.”

Morutse’s comments came after Sowetan reported that an abandoned satellite police station in Boikhutso township in Lichtenburg was abandoned by police officers because it became unsafe after community members attacked and later stripped it.

The facility that served different communities now lies in ruins and is a crime haven occupied by drug users.

The police station last serviced residents of Boikhutsong, Blydeville and surrounding farms in 2018.

Sowetan visited the area and found that the building is a hollow, vandalised shell, with broken windows and stripped walls.

The fence and gate have been torn down, there are no internal doors and the lights have been removed. Bricks are scattered on the floor. Outside, overgrown grass has taken over the grounds.

Next to the police building stands a former satellite municipal office, which has also been destroyed.

That has inconvenienced the residents who previously relied on the office for municipal services.

A block away, a community hall has also been vandalised. Not far from it was a stadium which was reduced to a dumping site.

The mayor said the situation on the ground was “worse than what you see”, pointing to alleged drug cartels, persistent infrastructure sabotage and threats against contractors that have stalled key service delivery projects.

“If you are vandalising a town hall, what are you saying? It is not vandalised by the municipality but by the same community. Even when we bring new projects, they [residents] are not getting joy, even the contractors that work there are not getting joy because they are always threatened — sometimes they cannot do their work properly.”

He also accused the police of failing to deal with crime in the area.

With regards to giving residents services, Morutse said he tried to bring projects to the community, which were not welcomed.

Morutse said his hands were tied, but that he would write letters to those representing the cabinet, including the municipal manager but “nothing happens”.

“The powers were taken by Section 137 (9). If the powers were there, it was going to be easy.”

Meanwhile, police confirmed that officers abandoned the satellite police station because it became unsafe after community members attacked it.

Acting provincial police spokesperson Col Anne Magakoe said the station was established in 1992 and served the community until it was closed in May 2018 after an incident of public violence that resulted in it being damaged.

It was unsafe for continued occupation so the officers abandoned it, she said.

Sowetan