Not yet Uhuru for Alex, says Muntu Mbanjwa
ALEXANDRA – ‘The township’s infrastructure is in a state of decay and has been so run down to a stage where it's even worse off than during apartheid’.
While the rest of the people marked Human Rights Day on March 21, Alex community leader Muntu Mbanjwa said he boycotted the celebrations as there is nothing to be merry about in the township.
“I deliberately boycotted the celebration due to the fact that nothing has changed in this township to warrant us to be merry, and I will continue to do for as long as conditions in Alex are not conducive for us to honestly celebrate the day.
“Our situation in Alexandra has gone from bad to worse. We are even worse off than during apartheid. If we’re to be honest with ourselves, it’s not yet Uhuru for Alex,” said Mbanjwa, a grandson of the late John Hey kaNxele Mbanjwa, the first African to buy land and settle in Alexandra.
“We’re still on the long walk to freedom. We don’t see any political will on the part of our leaders to change the face of Alex but all we hear are promises after promises and nothing gets done. There is nothing in Alex worth writing home about.
“The only things that Alex people have benefited from our food parcels and grants. Community projects are just cooked up overnight and the following morning they begin implementing them without consultation, and most of these projects do not benefit the people of Alexandra.”
Mbanjwa, who is also the chairperson of the committee on media liaison in the Alex Chapter of SA Day, said the infrastructure has decayed; the roads are now all potholed to such an extent that they are un-driveable. “Rats terrorise residents day in day out and the situation is fast becoming unattainable.
“I will only celebrate Human Rights Day once our human rights and dignity as Alexandrians are fully restored through cleaning the township, rejuvenating our infrastructure and building decent houses for those still holding apartheid permits which are now C Forms for housing allocations.”
