Alex community marches to the City offices for service delivery, and spoils it all at the end
ALEXANDRA – Leaders threaten that if nothing is done in 14 days, they will talk the language the leaders of this country understand better
The community of Alexandra has vowed to take extraordinary action if the City of Johannesburg does not respond to their grievances in the next 14 days.
This was after scores of community members marched to the City’s region E offices to tender their service delivery grievances. The community marched peacefully from Rotary Ground via Greystone Drive to the regional offices in Sandton on Friday 29 June, led by induna (headmen) from KwaNobuhle and KwaMadala hostels.
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The residents handed over their memorandum of grievance to the City’s region E Director Liziwe Makoro who promised to take all their grievances to the relevant City’s departments and communicate feedback to the indunas and political leaders about what will be done.
“I thank you for bringing these issues into my attention, as you had written to me in a letter I received a week ago informing me that you will be here today. My role here today is to receive your grievances and take them to the relevant departments. I will do that and communicate the feedback to you in 14 days,” Makoro said.
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Speaking during the handover of grievances, the residents’ leader Mlungisi Mabaso said if nothing was done in 14 days, they know what to do. “We know the language that leaders in this country understand. If nothing is done in the next 14 days, we are having an appointment with madam director,” Mabaso said.
Residents demand that:
- Water and electricity cuts in Alexandra must come to an end
- Access roads to hostels and informal settlements must be revamped
- The City must provide proper sanitation and flushing toilets for informal Alexandra settlement residents
- The city must employ hostel residents to clean their hostels because Pikitup has failed
- All informal settlements in and around Alexandra must have electricity to minimise fires
- A project known as the M1 Project to refurbish the KwaMadala hostel must start with immediate effect
- The newly built RDP houses must be given to the residents of Alexandra, not to people outside.
After a march, the Metro police and South African Police Service had a tough time and shots had to be fired to warn the crowd of marchers who diverted from the initial route and looted street vendors on the way back to Rotary Ground, spoiling what started out as a great initiative.
