The election season is among us as witnessed with the first launch of ActionSA in the Greater Taung Local Municipality.
The launch attracted a few people, even though it was held in the second-largest tribal site in the municipality. But, the party's Regional Chairperson in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, Madoda Nobula, said the organisation has more supporters in Longaneng Village, the Ba-Ga Maidi tribal.
"We used to appoint in branches, and now this is our first launch of ActionSA within the municipality. We have about 80 memberships in this village, so we chose to have our first launch here" he said.
Residents within this community were a no-show to the launch; however, those who came believed the party was in good standing to bring change in their lives. The launch of ActionSA also evoked the memories of the father of Bophutatswana, Lucas Mangope.
Mangope was the President of the former homeland, which changed its name to the North West Province after the 1994 general elections in the country.
A community member passing by the venue, Moipone Matshuma, told Mo-Media: "We no longer trust political parties because as soon as they are in power, they forget about our grievances. I cannot go to town now due to the bad condition of our main road. I remember Rre Mangope used to re-gravel it, but now it is left without maintenance." said Matshuma.
In addition, community member Kabelo Malepe said their village has poor service delivery. He said: "I am pleased about the party here today. I believe it can take us somewhere since we do not have much in our village."
Malepe further said that the youth in Longaneng has given into substance abuse because of the high unemployment rate. "We are not late for change. Our children have qualifications and have no jobs. They are forever at drinking hubs. They have nothing to do with their lives," he added.
Nobula acknowledged the struggles within the community and said that they were not there to make any promises to residents to change their lives in a split second should they win Ward 16.
"ActionSA believes in entrepreneurship, and we cannot only support our people through grants. We must nurture the skills of our people so that they can make a living for themselves," he said.
"The government system is bloated because most the government's finance goes to salaries. Therefore, we must have other means of generating job opportunities for the society," said Nobula.
