We who hail from the North West province are not surprised that President Zuma has gone on record that Johannesburg roads should not be compared with those in Rustenburg in quality. We did not expect anything much better.

The irony of the whole issue is that all this was said at the University of the Witwatersrand, the same venue at which back in 1993 the late Walter Sisulu called for the erstwhile Bophuthatswana to be made ungovernable. It is a striking coincidence that 20 years down the line the area is again devalued from the same premises.

We are not surprised that roads that were meant to be used during the 2010 World Cup are yet to see light of day. The detour around Boshoek en route to Sun City seems to have been shelved for good.

We are not surprised that the road between Koster and Lichtenburg has again been abandoned and we are not surprised that the most expensive tollgate in the country is at Swartruggens. It is not surprising because the North West province is just an outpost of the prestige Johanneburg.

It is not surprising that the North West Province is the only province without flight facilities but surprising enough before the advent of the current government the Mmabatho and Sun City Airports were hives of activity. The Sun City airport would have saved the country the embarrassment of a Gupta wedding plane landing at the Waterkloof Military Airbase. It is surprising that some provinces have multiple flight facilities per day while the North West, one goose that lays golden eggs in terms of revenue from the mines is unattended to, has no such facilities and the up o date state of the art landing facilities are left used by the public.

Government officials spend six hours to and fro by road on a normal day between Mmabatho, the provincial capital, and either Pretoria and Johannesburg where most government business is done. If there were flight facilities it would he an hour to and fro thus leaving them ample time to do their work unlike as matters stand they are more prone to road accidents and fatigue. It is therefore not surprising that the province is lagging behind even in basic matters of administration

It is not surprising that even after the Financial Service Board revealed that Cosatu, an affiliate of the ruling party, looted the Bophuthatswana National Provident Fund thus leaving former employees of the area destitute the government is not taking action.

All is quiet from the side of government on the over R300 million that has gone missing from the Development Account of tribal authorities in the North West Province and we are not surprised.

We shall take it upon ourselves to ensure that these wrongs are set right.

It is high time that equal attention be given to citizens of the Republic. Elsewhere millions of tax payers’ money is being spent on an airport while there are over three cities with landing facilities. We are not surprised.

Sent by: Sipho Mfundisi

President: UCDP