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Despite coming under fire from opposition parties for the procurement of 20 donkey carts for transportation, the North West department for community safety and road management is forging ahead with the project.
The department launched the R780 000 project this week saying the project was in line with the National Rural Transport Strategy.
The department said the service provider will maintain and fix the carts for the next three years at no cost to the new owners.
DA MP Chris Hunsinger has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently instruct the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to investigate the dodgy donkey cart donation.
"Not only does this 'donation' smack of brazen corruption, it also is a clear indication of the ANC’s complete disregard for the needs and dignity of these residents," Hunsinger said.
Chairperson of Action SA in the province Kgosi Mangope said the situation was regrettable.
"It is worrying that the department does not see anything wrong with donkey carts being used as a mode of transport to ferry people to clinics, shops, and a school which is many kilometres away in another village.
"After 28 years of ANC rule in North-West, one would expect that they now know the people’s needs and will implement programmes that will take them out of poverty, but they keep failing.
"The donation of these carts is just another clear example that the ANC government has no plan or the will to change people’s lives," Mangope added.
Meanwhile, Chief Director for Transport Operations at the municipality Mmaserame Dayel defended the project saying the community had long been using the carts but they were not compliant.
“The [ rural transport] strategy has [gone] further to identify the animal-drawn carts as an intervention that can be looked into for people within rural communities so that they can be in a position to access all kinds of services like schools.
“They have been using their donkey carts, but most of them don’t comply with the SABS specifications.
“Around 2002 we engaged with SABS and developed the specifications [with] universities like University of Johannesburg and University of Free State.
“We are assisting the community to ensure that they are compliant with the specifications,” she added.
Ward Councillor Tshepiso Motshabi said they were excited at receiving the carts and they need 100 more.
"We are not going to entertain that negative attitude from the middle class, they do not understand the struggle the struggle of our people on the ground. They dont know what is happening," he said.
"They do not come with solutions, we really are appreciating and saying to the department, give us more so we can give to the community," he added.
