Mining companies operating in Sekhukhune district of Limpopo province will be required to invest in infrastructure development after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) wins in South Africa’s forthcoming local government elections, EFF leader Julius Malema said on Saturday.
Malema, on a campaign trail in the region, said it pained him to see that the district was surrounded by mines but there was unemployment and the area was hit by underdevelopment as far as infrastructure was concerned.
“We were supposed to be having top schools in the Sekhukhune district,” the opposition leader said.
He added: “The minerals you have here were supposed to be paying for all that. You are rich in minerals but your children are unemployed.”
Malema said his party aimed to run all municipalities and to prioritise the provision of basic services.
“EFF municipalities will not stand by and do nothing about sanitation and toilets in schools because education in schools is the function of the national and provincial governments,” Malema said.
The country’s corruption deprived residents of basic services, and rural areas were neglected, he said, adding that there would “never be pit toilets in schools that fall under an EFF municipality.”
The EFF launched its local government elections manifesto last week in Johannesburg to kick off its campaign for the 1 November polls.
NM/jn/APA