[DEBATE] : Battle lines drawn in Khutsong and Moutse, Seale, Star

[Dominic Tweedie]

Battle lines drawn in Khutsong and Moutse


The Star, Johannesburg, February 7, 2006

By Lebogang Seale

They may be more than 200km apart, but Khutsong and Moutse are joined by
common objectives - unwavering solidarity to resist redemarcation.

Khutsong in Gauteng has, like Moutse in Mpumalanga, been making national
headlines since residents began opposing the government's attempt to
incorporate them into North West and Limpopo provinces, respectively.

So determined are the residents to defy what they call the balkanisation of
Khutsong and Moutse that they have now openly declared their districts as
no-go zones for the ANC.

"They are not welcome in our districts. They may campaign (for the local
government elections) door-to-door at night, but they can't call any public
meetings," said Motjakgole Maledimo, the SA Communist Party's district
secretary in Moutse.

At the centre of their opposition to incorporation into the two provinces
are fears of poor service delivery and governance.

"We are afraid that essential services such as education, water, health and
sanitation may be lost. Infrastructural developments such as roads are in
appalling condition and we do not want our livelihood adversely affected,"
Maledimo said.

On Friday last week, residents of Moutse declared at a rally that they were
planning more protest action. "This will include more marches to the local
municipalities and eventually to the Union Buildings alongside our comrades
from Khutsong," they said.

They also planned to take their defiance campaign to the Constitutional
Court in early March.

From: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=3099755
<http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=3099755>

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