Service delivery protest turns violent
The home of a Daveyton ward councillor was torched on Tuesday evening.
Daveyton – Residents of eBumnandini and Emapupeni, in Daveyton, took to the streets last night (Tuesday) and today in a bid to have the Ekurhuleni Metro take their complaints seriously.
The action turned violent when residents set councillor Lucky Cedric Mabaso’s house alight on Tuesday evening.
Streets were strewn with burning tyres, concrete and huge stones so no vehicles could move along the streets.
Both the South African Police Services (SAPS) and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) were on scene to disperse and control the crowds.
To prevent further damage to property and cars in the area by the violent protesters, SAPS and EMPD officials allegedly fired rubber bullets into the crowd.
The community of eBumnandini and Emapupeni in Dayeton are tired of poor service delivery.
It is alleged that for the past 14 years they have been living in the same appalling conditions.
Housing is their main reason for protesting.
Since 1990 the residents of eBumnandini have been promised housing and nothing has been done as yet.
“We still live in shacks and we were told that our houses were going to be built,” says resident Shelia Mlangeni.
Adding salt to the wound, the toilets that were supposed to be built, have not been erected.
Residents claim they still use the bucket system and have to wait in long queues to get clean water.
Overflowing sewage drains have been reported to the metro on several occasions during the past seven months, but are yet to be attended to.
Thapelo Mabaso (32), a resident of eBumnandini who is of no relation to the councillor, says he is sick of reporting all the issues they face with no response.
“We don’t have consistent running water on most days and it’s unhygienic for us who have to live with it,” says Mabaso.
Schools and other property was vandalised during the protest.
Residents are adamant that the protests will not end until they get good service delivery in their community.
Responding to the protest, DA Gauteng Constituency Head (Benoni), Michele Clarke says the DA in Gauteng condemns the violent service delivery protests in Etwatwa and Daveyton, which have resulted in the vandalism of a school and the councillor’s house being set alight.
“For the last nine years, residents in these wards experience daily water interruptions or exceptionally low water pressure.
“In Etwatwa Extensions 17, 18 and 19, toilets provided by the municipality have not had roofs for the past six years. Neither have they had water to flush away excrement.
“These matters have been taken to the ANC ward councillor by the community, but their grievances have fallen on deaf ears.
“While people have a right to services, and have a right to demand that the EMM provides these services – no one has a right to cause malicious damage to public or private property,” she says.
The DA calls on Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo to address this as a matter of urgency and to take EMM mayor Mondli Gungubele to task over the issue.
