POLITICS

40 years later, Skaapruiz residents still share water with animals – DA Mpumalanga

James Masango says water from tanker usually dirtier than water from the pond

40 years later, Skaapruiz residents still share water with animals

8 August 2018

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted and oversight inspection in Skaapruiz informal settlement where community members have been living without sufficient access to basic services for 39 years.

According to residents, they have been living there since 1979 when a local mine allocated them to the area. The 130 houses are all constructed using mud and residents use the nearby bushes as toilets.

Their only reliable source of water is the nearby pond which they share with animals as they have been totally neglected by the ANC-led Msukaligwa local municipality. A water tanker sporadically supplies water to Skaapruiz but community members complain that the water is often dirtier than the water in the pond.

Click herehere and here for pictures.

The people of Skaapruiz, along with many such communities across the province continue to feel the effects of the corrupt legacy of DD Mabuza, under whose leadership, lining the pockets of those in his patronage network was more important than delivering basic services to the people.

As unemployment in Mpumalanga continues to rise, the future looks bleak for the residents of Skaapruiz, most of whom are unemployed and have been living in appalling conditions for many years with no assistance from the governing ANC.

The DA will engage with Cooperative Governance MEC, Speedy Mashilo, asking him to urgently intervene in Skaapruiz as nobody should be left without access to water.

DD Mabuza used and abused funds designated to the empowerment of our people and development of clinics, houses and roads to maintain a corrupt patronage network. Until change is implemented in Skaapruiz, this community will forever live under Mabuza’s corrupt legacy.

The people of Mpumalanga and South Africa will only be free when the ANC is no longer in government. Mpumalanga deserves change that puts the people and their needs first.

Issued by James MasangoDA Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, 8 August 2018