Ekurhuleni Mayor Tanya Campbell apologized to the people of Tembisa for not reaching out to them in time.
Earlier this week, Tembisa residents went on a rampage, setting fire to municipal buildings and vehicles.
Four people died during the protests. They protested against rates and taxes that they thought were excessively high.
Campbell promised residents that all their complaints would be addressed.
She says, “I want to apologize for not coming to you sooner. However, I wanted to make sure that what I bring here is tangible, that they are solution-oriented, not word-oriented. We have worked tirelessly to find a peaceful solution to all the issues you have raised.”
“We’re here to give feedback on the memorandum we received,” says Tanya Campbell as she takes the stage. She also sent her condolences to the families who lost loved ones during Monday’s protests. #SABCNews #Tembisashutdown pic.twitter.com/Uw9uT4WM1B
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) August 5, 2022
Ekurhuleni Mayor Tanya Campbell addressing the people of Tembisa:
Basic services
Campbell said on Tuesday they had to cut back on free basic services to the community after the National Treasury cut the municipality’s budget allocation during the previous African National Congress (ANC) takeover of the area.
Campbell said the new cost-cutting measures were only implemented after the Democratic Alliance (DA) took power following last November’s municipal elections.
Campbell says she will now liaise with Gauteng Premier David Mahura in a bid to secure more funds from the National Treasury.
“We would need to start discussions to see if we could get additional funds from the National Treasury to rebuild it. But now we can’t do it with the budget we’ve been given. But there are various platforms that we have provided, and one of them that we have introduced as a new administration is the debt relief policy to help people with outstanding debt that has been there for years,” Campbell adds.
Tembisa Protest | Action plan by Gauteng and Ekurhuleni officials to address community concerns:
