Locals take to the streets
KwaThema – Residents of the Ekuthuleni Informal Settlement, near the KwaThema Hostel took to the streets on Thursday morning, to show their dissatisfaction regarding lack of service delivery.
Some of the protests complained that there are people who are given first preference and that their promised houses were given to certain people, while others demanded electricity.
But it is believed that problems started when officials from the Department of Energy wanted to enter to bring in electricity into the area.
Protesters then denied the officials to get details and access to the area.
EMPD KwaThema precinct and First Responder Unit (FRU) along with the SAPS were called to that particular area, but residents demanded they needed to be addressed by ward 78 councillor Thoko Radebe.
Clr Radebe explains that the people in this area are divided, as some want the electricity while other says they want their houses first, hence those who don’t want the electricity took to the streets.
“We have had meetings with these people before and we are never able to reach an agreement as they are divided.
“They claim they want service delivery, but when we give it they still complain.
“When we had a meeting with some of the representatives at the Customer Care Centre on Thursday morning, we were served with an interdict by a lawyer of the residents to stop the process, so we couldn’t go as this is now a court matter,” says Radebe.
She adds that the saddest part is that about three people’s shacks were burnt down during the protest.
