CONSTITUENCY WORK
day – clad in their blue DA t-shirts, they are served by a man wearing an ANC t-shirt. When this is pointed out, the ANC man quips: “Food has no politics”. The local DA leaders arrive. Mr
Reginald Mabasa is the party’s main man in the township. He has been at the forefront of canvassing support for the DA in the area and regards housing as the major problem. Of course, there are other issues relating to sewerage, water and electricity. According to Mr Ollis, only one per
cent of Alex residents have title deeds to their homes. He says there will never be proper development in the township unless the housing issue is sorted out. So bad is the housing that
residents of at least 200 shacks are forced to share a tap for their water supply. Mr Ollis has taken it upon himself to do all he can as an MP to
help address the problems faced by the people of Alexandra.
Congress of the People (COPE) COPE MP Mr Nic Koornhof does his constituency work in two provinces (Limpopo and Western Cape). Issues that usually dominate the agenda of his constituency meetings in both provinces, says Mr Koornhof, include unemployment, lack of clean water and poor or crumbling infrastructure. But after the town of Hoedspruit in Limpopo was hit by a cyclone in January this year, Mr Koornhof said the agenda for Limpopo included the immediate reconstruction of Hoedspruit’s roads, including farm roads. Mr Koornhof said cyclone Dando
made the Hoedspruit community inaccessible when bridges were completely destroyed, isolating the town. The government quickly
86 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One - South Africa
intervened, but the cyclone damage made tourism impossible in the area. The people of Hoedspruit, according to Mr Koornhof, depend on tourism, farming and government grants for survival. Mr Koornhof devoted much
of his 2012 April constituency time to Limpopo and prioritized Hoedspruit. While there to assess the government’s progress in reconstructing the town after the cyclone, he found that the people of Hoedspruit were delighted that the government had reconstructed roads and bridges damaged by the cyclone.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) The IFP’s Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa’s name means prayer and the people from his village rely on him for an answer to their prayers relating to development. Mr Hlengwa is only 25 years old, but he is the leading
figure in the endeavour to improve the lives of people in Vulamehlo, a village that falls into the Ugu District Municipality. The community faces a number of challenges, including high unemployment and one local high school, Vumandaba, has for years been struggling to get flush toilets. On a rainy Friday in October, Mr Hlengwa made his way to the school to meet the principal for yet another discussion on the toilet issue. Established in 1957, the school
has never had proper ablutions. When learners and teachers have to relieve themselves, they have to use dirty pit toilets. “I have spoken to a colleague of mine in the Provincial Legislature to take up the matter,” said Mr Hlengwa. He has also undertaken to raise the issue with all relevant authorities. According to the principal, they have notified the Ugu District Municipality about their situation but nothing
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