Mashatile Defends Ditsobotla Intervention as Residents Demand Administrator’s Removal

Overview

• Deputy President Paul Mashatile returned to Lichtenburg on Thursday for an oversight visit and said national government will stay on the ground.
• Residents told visiting officials the intervention has failed them and called for National Cabinet Representative Kopung Ralikontsane to be removed.
• Mashatile said the municipal council has stabilised with a new mayor and speaker in place and councillors now working together.
• Government listed steps now under way, including a Treasury-led financial recovery plan, water-infrastructure business planning and bulk supply support, repairs to Beyers Naudé Drive with pothole work, and new waste trucks with EPWP crews at landfill sites.
• People described getting only brief trickles of water every few days and frequent power cuts, underscoring the gap between official assurances and daily life.