Rural Free State communities want electricity, roads, jobs and help against nepotism from President Jacob Zuma, the presidency said on Tuesday.
Zuma visited rural development programmes in the Diyatalawa and Makgolokoeng villages in the eastern Free State to monitor the performance of government.
Zuma expressed satisfaction with improvements on the development programmes that were visited.
The two projects were good models for rural development and could be lessons for other parts of the Free State and the country, said the Presidency.
The biggest problem in Makgolokoeng was electricity.
A new bakery which was built for the community stopped functioning because of power problems. A new school and crèche could also not operate because of the lack of power.
Zuma said the electricity problem was urgent and the national government would follow up on the issue.
Other concerns raised included roads, crime, particularly the raping of children walking to and from school, unemployment and the need for recreational facilities.
The community also want the president to help with issues of nepotism.
At the Diyatalawa village, Zuma visited various projects the government had already started such as a farm bought to settle about 50 families.
Fifty housing units with VIP toilets have been built and solar panels have been installed in order to provide energy to the houses.
A new school, crèche and a multipurpose sports facility were also built.
Zuma said many of the problems were already part of the country's main development priorities and were already receiving attention.
However, there was a need for government to work harder to ensure that service delivery was at a more desired pace, the Presidency said. - Sapa