Battle+lines+drawn+in+Khutsong+and+Moutse,+Seale,+Star



=Battle lines drawn in Khutsong and Moutse=

The Star, Johannesburg, February 7, 2006

 * By Lebogang Seale**

They may be more than 200km apart, but Khutsong and Moutse are joined by common objectives - unwavering solidarity to resist redemarcation.

Khutsong in Gauteng has, like Moutse in Mpumalanga, been making national headlines since residents began opposing the government's attempt to incorporate them into North West and Limpopo provinces, respectively.

So determined are the residents to defy what they call the balkanisation of Khutsong and Moutse that they have now openly declared their districts as no-go zones for the ANC.

"They are not welcome in our districts. They may campaign (for the local government elections) door-to-door at night, but they can't call any public meetings," said Motjakgole Maledimo, the SA Communist Party's district secretary in Moutse.

At the centre of their opposition to incorporation into the two provinces are fears of poor service delivery and governance.

"We are afraid that essential services such as education, water, health and sanitation may be lost. Infrastructural developments such as roads are in appalling condition and we do not want our livelihood adversely affected," Maledimo said.

On Friday last week, residents of Moutse declared at a rally that they were planning more protest action. "This will include more marches to the local municipalities and eventually to the Union Buildings alongside our comrades from Khutsong," they said.

They also planned to take their defiance campaign to the Constitutional Court in early March.

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 * From: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=3099755