The DA in Thaba Chweu calls on the Department of Culture Sports & Recreation to urgently intervene and bring stability to Lydenburg Library.
In 2016, the department embarked on a recreation facility refurbishment drive in the province, including the Lydenburg Library which was turned into a state-of-the-art facility and handed over to the municipality.
However, the municipality has seemingly failed to maintain and keep the library in a good condition which has led to theft and vandalism.
Culprits have made away with several items, including, keyboards, mouse, hard drive and other valuables. A broken window on the first floor allows people to put the stolen goods on the roof of the building and collect them later.
CCTV cameras that were installed have also been vandalized and damaged. As a result, these cameras are no longer functional. We have also established that there is only one employee deployed at this library, despite four employees being budgeted for.
This employee has been tasked with carrying out all functions of this library, these include from attending to the public, issuing and receipt of items, developing educational programmes, overseeing devices and guarding the infrastructure from criminals.
Senseless government practices of the ANC in this regard have exposed this employee to an unconducive workplace environment. This is unacceptable, considering that it has also exposed the employee to criminals.
Day to day operations of libraries should be prioritized, these are of great importance in our communities as they preserve a lot of information.
With the local economy of Thaba Chweu being on a downward spiral, the library should play a key role helping residents access information, upgrade their skills and help them process job applications.
The DA will not let the ANC administration run our recreation facilities to the ground. Residents have already suffered enough under the current government.