Disabled man sleeps outside municipal office demanding road be fixed

Pule Ratselane has been camping outside the offices of Maluti-a-Phofung Muncipality. Photos: Tladi Moloi

A man in a wheelchair from Kudumane Village in Qwaqwa has been sleeping outside the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality’s offices since Monday evening. He is demanding repairs to the road to his house.

Pule Ratselane, whose leg has been amputated, said he will not leave until the executive mayor, Maleukla Melato, or the Free State Premier, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, talk to him.

“I don’t mind staying here until the next election. I have a right to be here. The road is bad. It has been 15 years since I have requested the road to be fixed.”

He says he cannot navigate the roads in their current state. He has to pay almost five times the normal rate for a taxi to take him home.

Ratselane is 47 years old and father to four children. He showed GroundUp a letter, signed by MMC of Infrastructure and Electricity on 30 April, committing to fix Ratselane’s road. But he says the people who came to fix the road left the project half finished.

Municipal spokesperson Thabo Kessah told GroundUp that the mayor will attend to Ratselane as soon as she is available.

“The municipality is aware of the road he is referring to and we are busy working on it. That part of the road is prone to damage as it faces a natural water channel that is always flooded when it rains. Our team went there last week to fix the road, but couldn’t finish the work as we had to take our tipper trucks for service. As soon as they are back our teams will go there to finish the job,” he said.

When asked why they took so long to fix the road, he explained that it is a provincial road. Regardless, the municipality has decided to step in to attend to Ratselane’s problem.

A pile of rocks was delivered by the municipality and repairs started but were left unfinished.

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