Twenty-four hours after President Jacob Zuma’s surprise visit to Balfour’s protest-racked Dipaleseng municipality, in Mpumalanga, Lefty Tsotetsi, the executive mayor of Balfour — who says he was at home with a ‘stomach problem” when the president dropped by on Tuesday — received another unannounced visit: from the Mail & Guardian. This time Tsotetsi was at his desk and in a meeting with his municipal manager, Patrick Malebye, and communications officer Mohlalefi Lebotha. They agreed to talk to Karabo Keepile.
Zuma’s visit to Balfour: What actually happened?
President Jacob Zuma paid a visit to Balfour this week in the wake of recent service delivery protests. Listen to an interview with the mayor and watch a slideshow.
Watch the slideshow |
M&G: So Mr Tsotetsi, we read yesterday that when the president arrived, you were not around and had to be summoned for a chat?
Tsotetsi: No one summoned me. I was in the office early in the morning; I got sick so it was beyond my control. So when the president arrived they fetched me at home.
The impression was that you had knocked off early. What was wrong?
Tsotetsi: I had a stomach problem.
And how are you feeling today?
Tsotetsi: I’m feeling far better.
You must have been flustered [to hear that the president was in your office]?
Tsotetsi: No.
So how did you feel?
Tsotetsi: It was a surprise visit like he said, for everybody, not just for me.
What did the president want?
Tsotetsi: He wanted a briefing about the situation and what was happening in the township two weeks ago.
And what is happening in the township?
Tsotetsi: I told him. First he went to the township before he came here, so he heard what people are saying and he wanted to confirm those issues and we confirmed those issues. For example, people have raised the issues of the distance to the hospital, and houses; [these issues] belong to national and provincial government.
So are you saying your hands are tied?
Tsotetsi: It’s 70km from here to Standerton —
Did you and President Zuma reach any conclusions?
Tsotetsi: The president has committed that he is going to request that the ministers responsible for those departments come to try to address those issues.
We have just walked into a meeting between you and the municipal manager. Does this have anything to do with yesterday’s surprise visit by the president?
Tsotetsi: No.
What issues were you discussing?
Tsotetsi: We were discussing the municipality.
So, Mr Tsotetsi, can we expect you to be at work the whole week?
Tsotetsi: Of course, yes.
M&G asks municipal manager Patrick Malebye: From your perspective, what kind of state is this municipality in?
Well, as the executive mayor indicated, the issues that are being raised by the community are genuine and most unfortunately they are beyond the municipality’s operations. The issues are not in the competency of the municipality. As a municipality our responsibility is to ensure that we forward the information and facilitate in whatever processes we need to facilitate.
So what function does the municipality serve?
Malebye: The function of the municipality is contained in the Constitution. It focuses more on basic services, so issues that pertain to health, education, safety and security are not in the competency of the municipal offices.
People are also complaining about basic services.
Malebye: Yes, those that affect the municipality we are dealing with.
Mohlalefi Lebotha, communications officer also replied:
The executive mayor’s functions aren’t exactly office-bound, so it is bound to happen that at any time you may come here, the executive mayor may not be in the office.
We have meetings that we have got to attend, so it can happen that the president or the minister comes here and the executive mayor is having a meeting, so it’s unfortunate the way it was reported to say the mayor left before knock-off time or that there is something sinister about it. It’s just all in a day’s work.
And there was also something [in news reports] about the secretary of the executive mayor dropping a plate of food and there was nothing like that.
So what does your day as mayor entail?
Tsotetsi: Like today, I came here at eight o’clock because I had a meeting at nine o’clock. I can’t tell you which days I’m in the office because, like Mr Lebotha says, sometimes I have a meeting in Grootvlei or Greylingstad.
You go to a lot of meetings. How often do you go into the community?
Tsotetsi: I normally go. Even yesterday afternoon, after the president left, I went. I had a meeting with the community and the ANC.
How did the meeting go?
Tsotetsi: I am not a spokesperson for the ANC.
Lebotha: We are actually excited about the visit from the president because he is the president of the republic and there is no one who can restrict the president on when he can visit and we are just determined to make sure that all these issues will be sorted out and that the responsible ministers will also come to the party and assist the municipality.