{"id":268790,"date":"2025-09-11T10:55:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T08:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/?p=268790"},"modified":"2025-09-11T10:55:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T08:55:23","slug":"despair-reigns-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/despair-reigns-true\/","title":{"rendered":"Despair reigns true"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dikgapha Motsekiswa, Matjhabeng:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the history of South Africa, the year 1994 was the year of hope and despair. All the citizens of South Africa eagerly expected to live in peace, prosperity and harmony with each other. Alas, all this was a daydream because our country failed dismally in all the three spheres of government, which have totally collapsed.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a plethora of reasons why the three spheres of the South African government collapsed. Among others, they collapsed because of the tripartite governance that messed everything up. The Matjhabeng Local Municipality is a case in point. What causes this municipality to be in the state in which it is, is the members of the National Union of Mine (NUM) workers, most of whom originated from the former Transkei and Ciskei homelands.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Letters-to-the-Editor-kassie-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Letter to the editor\" class=\"wp-image-263864\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Letters to the Editor <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The NUM members who govern Matjhabeng have proven to be lacking knowledge in governance, administration, management and leadership. For more than 30 years that the ANC has been in power, the members of NUM have failed to carry out the basic managerial function namely controlling, planning, organising, and leading.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another misfortune is that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy has rendered them useless and ineffective. The BEE policy has never and will never contribute to the service delivery and the development of the Matjhabeng region. Yet, the municipality has the audacity to force pensioners to pay for services they cannot afford. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the question arises: What will happen to the property of the pensioner who was burdened with the money that (s)he couldn&#8217;t pay after her or his death?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NUM members who govern Matjhabeng have proven to be lacking knowledge in governance, administration, management and leadership. For more than 30 years that the ANC has been in power, the members of NUM have failed to carry out the basic managerial function namely controlling, planning, organising, and 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