By 
We have entered local government election year and we are about to be subjected to all sorts of electioneering, promises and even some temporary highly efficient quality service delivery.
As a journalist, I have been exposed to the two economies of South Africa, for instance, in the morning we will be in a hotel or some posh place with Mayors, MECs premiers, ministers and so forth, eating nice palatable food; impressive presentations will be done on how communities, especially the poor will get services. Everything will be presented with timelines and a budget.
Later that day, I will be in the poor communities, where when you enter the area you are welcomed by a terrible stench from the sewer spillage and illegal dumping sites. Some of the homes I would enter smell of paraffin and you could actually sense the hunger and poverty in that shack.
One of my main questions I would ask the residents was that of service delivery and what they want the government to do for them.
These are some of the answers I got:
Empty promises
In our conversations, as they complain about service delivery matters, I would share what the government is up to, to my surprise, they would tell me that they have heard that many times over, to date, none of the promises made have ever come to fruition. They would tell me how political party officials would come to their community only during election period, after getting their votes, they disappear with their promises.
Some would tell me they have been staying in informal settlements for more than 30 years and are still waiting for title deeds or to be allocated land. They would count the number of broken promises made to them.
Provide land
Most of the people I spoke to in informal settlements told that, they only want land with tittle deeds, and for government to provide services like water and sanitation, and electricity, and they will build their own houses. As long as they have a place that they can call home, and a place to leave for their children when they are gone from this world, they are fine.
Create jobs
One of the biggest challenges is that of unemployment, most of the people want to work and earn their own money than depend on grants. Grants are fine, but up to a point as they do not meet their needs. In one of the areas in Bloemfontein, prostitution is so prevalent due to unemployment and women trying to make ends meet, especially when they have children to feed and pay for school fees.
Looking down on the poor
I have received overwhelmingly complains of community members in these poor areas that officials make them feel that they are poor and are beneath them. They feel undermined and not taken serious. In some instances, community members would tell me that Councillors and some government officials would call them derogative names every time when they demand services in their area.
Build proper roads
This is one of the burning issues in poor communities, some streets have grass growing, and there are no storm drains. In one street in Grassland, Bloemfontein, there is a huge tree in the middle of the street and has been there for many years. The roads are so bad one can hardly drive on them.
In one instance, residents told me that one of the neighbours had died, when emergency services came, they could not access the street, the neighbours had to carry the dead body to the vehicle waiting some 200 to 300 meters down the street. The same was done during the funeral.
Support small businesses
People from poor area also have ideas of making a decent income. They have started businesses and have been trying for years to access funding without any success. Some don’t even need the funding; they want take-off contracts with government to boost their businesses. In one instance, there were people who were in construction and a school was being built in their area, they applied or bid for that 30% share that should come to the community via sub-tendering, but instead, that 30% was taken elsewhere, that upset the local business community as they felt undermined.
Poor people are not stupid
It is amazing how intelligent people are, when visiting them, they would quote the bylaws and other relevant legislation based on what we are discussing. They would show me recordings of meetings they had with Councillors and government officials. They are aware of political trends and the lies sold to them. They keep political parties in power just to give them the benefit of the doubt. But that trust and hope is shrinking very fast. They know what to do to remove one from office, but for some reason, they are holding back.
What should political parties do?
All political parties need to do is ensure that there is proper reliable service delivery to all communities, listen to their constituency and be present in their communities not only during election time. Avoid looking down on people, humility is an elevator in politics, when people see that you respect them and you humble yourself, they will elevate you to the echelons and keep you there.
People don’t want hand outs, create jobs, support small businesses, give them good roads and create a conducive environment for all to thrive economically and all will be fine. People don’t want complicated things; political parties must just be in touch with the people on the ground and keep their promises.
