Am I speaking too much truth? The DA-led city council cancelled projects that were created by our people for refuse removal in Mitchells Plain and surrounding areas in the Cape Flats. Some residents had their water cut, and when they complained they were accused of having been bribed or bought by the ANC. The selective delivery of services and neglect of townships by this city is an issue that all of us should look at with utmost urgency and vigilance. We as the ANC cannot keep quiet.
Our common struggle to build a better South Africa and ensure a better life for all the people knows no boundaries, as the President has emphasised. All artificial, political and geographic boundaries will have to be brazenly dismantled to ensure that all the people of South Africa enjoy the fruits of freedom, regardless of their location within the boundaries of our country. I want to support the MEC who has just spoken here in that the will of the people must always be respected, but I also want to assure the MEC that when people vote for a particular party, and a few months down the line they protest, that is a democratic expression of their will, and they have every right to do that. There is nothing wrong in doing so.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, as a person who comes from the Western Cape, I was excited to be in a province that is completely free. I interacted and communicated with the people of Diyatalawa, a project that you can see is there for the benefit of our people. We want to join the premier of the Free State in reassuring the people of this district and this municipality that we have heard of their plight.
Working together with our people will harness opportunities presented by this democracy. We are aware that as we prepare for next year's elections our people will continue to be part of our resolve to dismantle the legacy of apartheid. As we prepare for these elections I also want to support the President in saying that councillors are hardworking, and for those few that are lazy there is no place. Our people can no longer wait to be free. [Applause.]
When we took up the fight against apartheid we understood that the darkness that had befallen our people for many years was only a momentary setback, and that the sun would rise to make their lives prosperous. Operation Hlasela is a case in point. [Applause.] Such was our optimism when we were fighting apartheid that we were inspired to take it to the streets against the might of apartheid, and we were only armed with our conviction. We did this because we knew of and understood the plight of our people. Despite their frustrations the people bear testimony to the fact that steadily, through operations like Hlasela, the dark clouds of despair are lifting, giving way to a season of hope. Our country has for centuries bled from a thousand wounds of neglect. We are now a nation at work building a better life for our people.
The ANC is conscious of the fact that transforming South Africa and ensuring a better quality of life is made harder by the effects of the apartheid system. We welcome the commitment made by the various spheres of government to move decisively, responding to the plight of the people of Thabo Mofutsanyana. We welcome the commitment made by the Free State government to work with local farmers to intensify the land reform programme, and to ensure that more land is in the hands of the rural poor.
We are pleased by the pronouncements that the people of Thabo Mofutsanyana, particularly the youth, will also join the masses of young people who are given technical skills and financial resources to generate economic opportunities.
Premier, with our own eyes we have seen the successes of Operation Hlasela in areas like Diyatalawa - as I have mentioned. We leave your province with a great sense of pride and urge you to continue with the good work. [Applause.]
We are making these pronouncements with neither hesitation nor doubt, precisely because we know that this provincial government is a people's government. It continues to deliver a message that says to our people, "We know your challenges, and we will ensure that they are resolved so that you too can enjoy a better quality of life."
We should ensure that criminals do not take over our streets and compromise the safety of our people in their homes, and in the streets. We want to thank the President for reassuring our nation that the ANC remains committed to the realisation of the interests of the masses of our people. Working together we can do more. I thank you. [Applause.]