Patriotic Alliance deputy President Kenny Kunene keeps promise to oldest party member

By: Sello Theletsane

Patriotic Alliance deputy President Kenny Kunene’s philanthropic and giving way has inspired government departments to do their work as they try to play politics.

Kunene on Monday visited Mama Thelma after having promised to sort out her electricity problems.

He said he was humbled to have signed up Mama Thelma, the oldest member of the Patriotic Alliance.

“We found when we were here last week, she was with her daughter Mama Denise, who is also a pensioner, 77 years old… I’m here with our leader in this ward, Leader Melisa, as we’re also here with the councillor candidates for wards 69 and 82. We found that Mama Thelma had an electricity problem which had gone off for about a week sometime two weeks,” he said.

Following his visit and promise to resolve the electricity issue, City Power jumped and fixed the problem after having failed to do so in the past.

“City Power comes here claiming to have fixed it, they leave, when they’re around the corner, the electricity goes off for another week. I gave a commitment that we will come with an electrician on Tuesday, so we are here with the electrician. However, Mama tells us that City Power came on Friday after the councillors saw leader Melisa post on the community WhatsApp group after we posted on social media that we were going to help, they came here sparks were running on the poles and they fixed it, It has been working since Friday but it was because our intervention as the Patriotic Alliance that they came,” he said.

Kunene said they found another problem that forms part of their manifesto, that when they take over, their people are going to start from zero.

“Number two, that no pensioner must pay municipal rates, no pensioner must pay electricity, no pensioner must pay for water. Mama Thelma is sitting here with a tax invoice from the City of Joburg, where they say she owes them R12 700, it was R13 216.35… minus R 234 that she paid, now R12 768. They have instructed her to pay R300 out of her pension to pay for this debt of municipal rates. They have given her another municipal rate account that says R510, that’s what it says, total due R510 that she must pay. This means per month, over R800 goes out of the R1 700 that the government gives to her. This government of the ANC gives pensioners with the right and takes with the left hand. Now over R800 is gone, she’s left with R900,” Kunene said.

“She must now pay for electricity which is not included here [on the tax invoices] which is about R400, she’s now left with R500 out of that pension money. This is what pensioners in this country are experiencing.”

Kunene said out of that R500, she must buy food for the month, she must buy medication, she must pay for transport, she must pay people who are helping her clean.

“How evil can you be as a government not to take care of your pensioners? So as we said on Saturday [at the manifesto launch], these types of debts will be written-off. No pensioner will receive this [City Power tax invoices] when the Patriotic Alliance takes over. We will have a database of all our pensioners in all our wards, no pensioner will pay for municipal rates, no pensioner, this is not right. A 96-year-old, who stays alone… her children send people from the neighbourhood to stay with her so that she’s safe. Her daughter also is a pensioner, 77 years old. She also gets the same municipal rates bill in Eldorado Park. The OuLady here is in Coronationville,” he said.

Kunene added that the PA was not talking things out of their heads but they go to their people, to the ground and they listen to what they’re saying.

He added that they would implement the manifesto and start at zero.

“No pensioner will get this piece of paper. When you look at the water meter, it’s a very old water meter that is not even running yet they[City Power] are giving her this paper that she owes. I took a picture of the water meter, I’m going to post it with whatever that I’m going to post… that thing is not running, It’s a very old water meter. They have put in new meters here, but this OuLady here [Mama Thelma] they come here, they do the guesswork of how much water she has used, she stays alone. This thing must come to an end. The ANC has failed our people, all the parties that have said they are opposition have done nothing than to make jokes in Parliament and in Council,” he said.

Kunene added that grandparents can’t have their toilets blocked, have your water drainage blocked.