The mayor of Musina Local Municipality, Cllr Mihloti Muhlope, has condemned in the strongest terms the actions of arsonists who set a municipal vehicle alight last week.
Muhlope said this while she was inspecting the damaged vehicle together with the acting municipal manager, Mr Nathi Tshiwanammbi, at the Nancefield municipal offices.
She said she was disappointed that there were still people who believed that they could solve problems with violence. "Musina Municipality has an open-door policy and we always make calls that community members are free to come and voice their concerns." A case of arson and malicious damage to property was registered with the local police.
"The police are following leads to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book. We believe that the arsonists will receive a heavy sentence, so that it can serve as a lesson to those who have intentions to destroy government property in future."
Muhlope added that destroying government property had a negative impact on service delivery. "How can we expect municipal workers to react on time while their modes of transport are being destroyed? We had a similar incident year before last and this is a trend that we must discourage community members to engage in. All the assets of the municipality do not belong to the employees, but they belong to the community because they help us to deliver efficient services. If we all learn to respect government property, we will all be moving in the same direction in terms of delivering efficient services. It is our joint responsibility to make sure that government property is safe at all times."