This comes on the heels of community pressure group Mangaung Service Delivery Forum’s (MSDF) suspension of its plans for picketing and night vigils. The group planned to protest against poor service delivery by the already cash-strapped municipality. Siyonzana is expected to announce plans to address the financial woes of the municipality that became the first in the country to be placed under administration. This month marks a year since the municipality has been placed under administration and continued protest actions, a mammoth overtime bill, and millions in outstanding consumer debts are some of the challenges faced by the municipality.

MSDF says the suspension was influenced by the provincial government and the presidency’s commitment to meet the pressure group’s executive committee and adopt a programme of action to deal with their demands. The MSDF’s demands include issues regarding illegal foreigners and immigrants, service delivery interventions, corruption and nepotism, job opportunities for all by reversing jobs given to families and friends, intervention in the Community Health Workers saga, Early Childhood Development, concerns regarding the Community Work Programme, and security and taxi industry challenges, amongst others.

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