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The Demarcation Board consists of highly paid individuals that has a mandate from government on its role, functions and modus operandi that it has to adhere and oblige to as and integral part of its effective and efficient functioning.
Yet amazingly, the Board, which was constituted in February/March 2014, has since then, done absolutely nothing, yet are being handsomely rewarded each and every month for just being there.
The local Municipal elections are scheduled to be held in 2016, and the demarcation board should at this point in time be active in the restructuring of wards in councils, attend to all of the outstanding issues in reference to demarcation and act with absolute unbiased and or politically flavoured decisions in the best interest of society.
One of the very important and outstanding issues is the demarcation of the Moutse area that has been a bone of contention way back since 2010.
The area at the time being a cross border area, between Mpumalanga and Limpopo and in order to ascertain the interest and decision of the residents in the area, a referendum held, in which the residents were afforded the opportunity to voice their preference of province in which to be demarcated exclusively.
Amazingly, well knowing that the majority feeling amongst residents being to be demarcated into Gauteng, as demarcation into Limpopo would have disastrous effects, the results of the referendum never published and or announced and the area through devious decisions demarcated into Limpopo, which has proven fatal in every and all respects.
Service delivery in the area has been put on the ‘back burner’ and the residents in the area suffering through this ill-decision taken not acting in the best possible interest and faith of the residents in the area.
On closer scrutiny of the demarcation board, it becomes clear that the board constitutes of ruling party executives, and that is in no way representative of being a-political and acting in the best interest of the society, despite its political allegiance, and being conducive and this is something that needs urgent and remedial action.
The relevant role and power of each and every individual that serves on the Board needs to be clarified and enforced, as it appears that certain members, have even more power than the chairperson of the board and that in now way represents good, effective and efficient management with the best interest of society at hand and accountability which should be the core function in the board.
There appears to be no interaction and or engagement on various outstanding issues that needs to be sorted out prior to the upcoming election and this is indeed cause for concern, as these outstanding issues are not only relevant but form an integral part of being able to have sound, accountable, fair and just elections come 2016, being representative of the choices of the people in the relevant area.
The demarcation board need to get its ‘duck in a row’ and start functioning at optimal levels, which at this point in time is not, as its functions, role, is conspicuously absent in society at large, where important and relevant outstanding issues are not being attended to and or remedial ameliorated action taken to correct the wrongs that exist.
A wake-up call is what is needed in order to have just, fair elections come 2016.
