To prepare for local government elections in August, the Eastern Cape government has set aside R13-million to upgrade roads to voting stations.
This was revealed by cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Fikile Xasa yesterday when he tabled his department's policy and budget speech at the Bhisho legislature.
Xasa said the decision was made after assessments of roads leading to voting stations showed that in some municipalities the roads were so bad they would hamper the freedom and fairness of the election.
Roads that need urgent attention to make them accessible for the poll were concentrated in Mbhashe, Ngcobo, Intsika Yethu, King Sabatha Dalindyebo, Sakhisizwe, Elundini, Ingquza Hill, Nyandeni, Matatiele, Ntabankulu and uMzimvubu municipalities.
Yesterday Xasa met in Bhisho with mayors from these municipalities to sign agreements that the money would be used for no other purpose than upgrading the roads to the voting stations.
He said the roads were identified by the province, working closely with the Independent Electoral Commission.
“The provincial election technical support team has been established and meets on a monthly basis.
“Their tasks, among others, are to ensure the state of readiness for the elections by identifying road infrastructure needs and undertaking civic education awareness campaigns.
“We told the mayors that the money we allocate to them must be used for election purposes only and nothing else,” said Xasa.
He added that to ensure proper utilisation of these funds, his department has requested municipalities to submit signed business plans for the upgrades.
“The municipalities will also sign declarations of assurance and receipt of the transfers.
“Their municipal management will also be expected to submit signed expenditure progress reports every month.”
He added that by working closely with the roads and public works department, the water and sanitation department, Eskom, premier Phumulo Masualle's office and the IEC, they would “resolve all infrastructure requirements for voting stations”.
Xasa also revealed that voter registration processes last month were disrupted in various parts of the province when some people prevented others from registering and also burnt some of the IEC material.
Xasa said such disruptions were recorded in “hotspot areas” around Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay metros, Ntabankulu, Stutterheim and Lusikisiki.
He said such disruptions were as a result of service delivery issues including lack of water and electricity in such areas.
“We note the complaints raised by communities about access roads, housing, water and sanitation, and unemployment. We are at work to resolve those matters with the leadership of the affected municipalities.
“However the destruction of voting material is a serious offence and all those involved will face the full might of the law,” Xasa said.
The MEC further revealed that four people were arrested in Stutterheim for destroying IEC material during the most recent registration weekend, and three others in the Butterworth area.
Xasa said the Stutterheim group were out on bail and would appear in court again on April 14, while those from Butterworth were still in custody and would again be in court on May 3. — asandan@dispatch.co.za