Maile’s irresponsible utterances will lead to more violent protests in Thembisa

4 August 2022

MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lebogang Maile’s recent utterances, namely that every citizen has the right to protest is only pouring more fuel on the fire.

Although Maile is correct that every citizen has the right to protest, his utterances appear to endorse the violent protests the last few days.

Instead, he should be working with Mayor Tania Campbell to ensure that the service delivery issues that have been highlighted by the community are resolved as soon as possible.

Maile’s comments were clearly designed to undermine the Mayor and the Ekurhuleni municipality. This is a clear dereliction of his duties as the MEC responsible for local governments in the province. It seems like Maile is trying to abuse the situation to strengthen his position in the ANC’s provincial structures.

The DA will continue to put pressure on MEC Maile to help the City of Ekurhuleni find tangible solutions to the issues highlighted by the community. We also urge the community to engage in meaningful discussions with the City to find an amicable solution to the service delivery issues.

Issued by Fred Nel, DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 4 August 2022