The African National Congress was to blame for the ”chaotic incident” that saw a building that doubles as an Independent Electoral Commission office and a political constituency office torched in the Moutse region in Limpopo, the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) said on Sunday.
The building was burnt down by disgruntled residents on Friday who were boycotting registration for the 2009 elections.
”Azapo believes the [unfortunate] problem could have been averted had the ruling party heeded Azapo’s advice and abolished provinces. Provincial government is a major cause of poor service delivery,” said spokesperson David Lebethe.
Moutse is one of the areas that was moved to another province during the demarcation process.
”The problem is further worsened by the ruling party’s inconsistent application of policy. While the ANC has promised to re-incorporate Khutsong back to Gauteng, it has refused to budge when it comes to Moutse and Matatiele.
”This is increasing the anger felt by our people because they are separated by provincial boundaries,” he said.
Provincial boundaries, said Lebethe, hampered service delivery as it was impossible for funds to ”filter down to the ground where it is most neededâ€.
‘It is Azapo’s considered view that service delivery can be accelerated if the function of provincial administration is taken over by the central government.
”As matters now stand, we see duplication of administration and the squandering of money.”
To resolve the issue, he advised those unhappy with ANC policies to avoid violence as the matter can be ”resolved through the ballot by voting Azapo”. – Sapa