Ficksburg Mayor: Contempt and arrogance have replaced empathy and compassion
In any election there are key moments when a general attitude is captured perfectly by a particular action. Yesterday South Africa bore witness to one such moment, when the mayor of Ficksburg, Mbothoma Maduna, giggling as he pulled from his office refrigerator a bottle of mineral water, said: "People say there is no water in this town. What is this?" (see Times report).
Rarely are contempt and arrogance brought together in such a powerful way: a sheer disdain for the public and those people, especially the poor, for whom basic services like access to water are fundamental, not just to their dignity, but their very ability to survive on a day-to-day basis.
These are the words of a mayor out of touch with the people he represents; a party that has forgotten the promises it has made; and an executive that has abandoned compassion, empathy and understanding in favour of callous self-interest.
The people of Ficksberg now face a clear choice: vote for mayor Maduna and endorse the cold, callous, uncaring attitude he embodies toward those people he represents. Or they can reject him, take a stand against his self-importance and the arrogant assumption he and his party make - that the people of Ficksburg will simply endorse his behaviour - and vote him out of office. The people of Ficksberg need once and for all to show mayor Maduna that the power lies with them and not with him and his party.
The town of Ficksburg in the Free State is facing a serious water crisis. The people of Maqheleng township must walk long distances with wheelbarrows and buckets just to get clean water. Downtown businesses and residents face sporadic water outages, never knowing when their taps might run dry. Compounding this, the water shortage has also impacted sewage flow as it builds up and leaves an acrid smell in the area.