President Thabo Mbeki should personally intervene in the Merafong municipality demarcation issue, religious leaders in Khutsong said on Wednesday.
”We ministers of religion want to see peace restored and we plead with the president … to personally intervene to create the conditions in which peaceful lives can resume,” they told reporters in Carletonville.
The church ministers, all members of the Khutsong Ministers’ Fraternal (KMF), were drafting a letter to the president, said KMF general secretary Abram Malefo.
”We don’t know why the president has sided against us. Perhaps he is misinformed.”
Malefo said Mbeki had only commented on the situation in Khutsong through the media.
The president, Malefo said, has recently attended an in imbizo in Potchefstroom where he lambasted the people of Khutsong, and did not go there.
Mbeki and his government had made strides towards bringing peace to conflict-torn parts of Africa, and could do the same in Khutsong, he said.
”As long as politicians continue to ignore stakeholder submissions and speak on our behalf rather than test our opinions, we fear Khutsong will remain ungovernable.”
He challenged North West Premier Edna Molewa to call a referendum to test her claims that ”Merafong backs government” on the incorporation.
Even the local African National Congress (ANC) was divided on the issue.
”Definitely there are ANC councillors who do not want to go to the North West. But they do not want to bite the hand that feeds them and therefore have to tell a lie.”
Malefo said the demarcation issue was handled in an irresponsible manner.
”More than 90% of people in Khutsong do not want to move to the North West.
”We believe this is a forced incorporation, in violation of the will of the people, in particular of the people of Khutsong on whose behalf we are making this plea.”
Malefo said Khutsong residents had legitimate fears about the likely deterioration of service delivery should the incorporation into North West from Gauteng be completed.
”We have nothing against the people of North West, who themselves suffer from the poor service delivery that we object to.”
He said another concern was that the Gauteng education system was way ahead of the North West.
”Here we have a programme called the Gauteng online that is not available in North West. The internet is funded by the Gauteng provincial government. The question is will the North West government be able to fund it?”
He claimed the education department was the last department to be handed over to the North West as authorities knew it was going to cause problems.
”Now teachers do not know who to report to. They don’t know where to submit examination papers after they’ve finished marking them.”
Malefo said no one wanted to take responsibility for the inconvenience the incorporation had caused.
The religious leaders would try to meet the Gauteng provincial ministers and Premier Mbhazima Shilowa to discuss the demarcation issue.
On the school boycott by Khutsong pupils, the ministers said they were disturbed by the recent developments.
Malefo said ministers had met pupils and tried to convince them to go back to school, but found it was impossible to send them back when teachers were not teaching.
Some pupils and teachers had suffered intimidation from the majority that did not want schooling to continue, he said.
”We are … engaging other stakeholders in education and the Anti-North West Forum to make them understand the consequences if our children are not attending school,” Malefo said.
Khutsong pupils had been boycotting school for weeks. They do not want to write examination papers set in the North West.
Last month, the provincial department of education suspended three teachers and a principal for supporting the class boycott.
The Merafong local council, which includes the Khutsong township, was incorporated into North West last year. Parts of the municipality previously fell under Gauteng.
The move evoked strong criticism and resulted in violent protests from Khutsong residents. — Sapa