This past week, I visited the Mogalakwena Municipality as part of my oversight duties as a Member of Parliament (MP), and as a visit to a community on my Power to the People Tour, to consult South Africans on the true state of the nation ahead of President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 12 February.

The Power to the People of the Tour, which will visit Tlokwe this week, will guide the work we do in Parliament as the Democratic Alliance, ensuring that the legislation we propose and fight for meets the needs and aspirations of South Africans, and that our municipalities deliver quality services to our people.

Citizens give politicians power through the ballot box, and in return, they expect the politicians to build better communities. Furthermore, municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide services to citizens, which is absent in Mogalakwena.

In Mogalakwena, the politicians have taken that power and used it for their own benefit, while entire communities are left powerless. Service delivery has come to a standstill in this municipality, leaving residents without hope.

The rot of corruption in Mogalakwena spans the past five years, as warring ANC factions fought for control of the municipality and access to its funds. The rot has become so widespread that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been co-opted by one faction as a private army to intimidate its rivals and the community. These are citizens who were rightfully demand the delivery of services in their community, and accountability from ANC Councillors and the municipality.

The co-option of SAPS to support a corrupt mayor has left communities vulnerable to criminals, while the police invest their energies and resources into the factional battle.

At the heart of this matter is deal signed by the officials within the municipality, and the local mines, to provide them with low-cost grey water for the next 30 years. The deal supposedly promises that if the grey water is insufficient for the mine’s needs, it will be supplemented by the town’s drinking water. The residents of Mogalakwena may very well see their taps run dry to keep the mine running.

Well-regarded members of the community have made serious allegations that senior ANC officials are benefiting from this deal, and protecting the corrupt Councillors to make sure they do not lose out. For his openness in naming those benefiting from the generally corrupt relationship, one community leader has allegedly been placed on a hit list.

It is clear that when politicians abandon their duty to be accountable to citizens, it is the people who suffer. This will happen time and time again, until citizens realise the power of their vote to bring about change, accountability and respect for the rule of law.

Different results will not come from the same party and the same politicians, as seen in Mogalakwena, Malamulele, Tlokwe and hundreds of communities across the country.

As we head to the 2016 Local Government Elections, citizens need to re-evaluate how they are going to best use the power of their vote. Citizens can vote the same, and expect the same poor service delivery and corruption; or voters can vote differently and expect different results, like quality service delivery and accountability. Change will only happen when we change the way we vote.

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), and Minister Pravin Gordhan, have failed in their oversight function of this municipality and others. The people of Mogalakwena are tired of corruption and a municipality engaged in factional wars instead of building communities. The municipality has become deaf to their serious concerns and blind to the level of suffering happening in front of them.

The citizens of Mogalakwena, like other municipalities in the country, need to take back their power through the ballot box.

Holding public office is a privilege bestowed upon someone by fellow citizens; not a right for politicians to do as they please. Politicians are elected to serve communities and residents, and when politicians do not serve their communities, they must be held accountable.

South Africans are crying out for leadership, at a time when politicians evade their responsibilities and use state apparatus and resources for their own benefit. South Africans are in need of leadership at a time when, at the very top, politicians lack the vision and determination to build better communities and a better country.

The people of South Africa have an opportunity to take back their power and to chart a new path for their communities. DM

Maimane is the Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly of South Africa.