THE Abahlali baseMjondolo shack dwellers movement says shackdwellers are sick and tired of being lied to by politicians. On Monday the organisation voiced its dissatisfaction, by blocking Vusi Mzimela (Bellair)Road and King Cetshwayo (JanSmuts)Highway in Mayville with stones, trees and burning tyres.
According to Abahlali, for a long time the community has been side-lined by the ward councillor when it comes to providing basic services, including those which are urgently required for basic human dignity and safety. The community has been living in the area without electricity, proper water and toilets. It said children were being raised under these conditions.
“Earlier this year Mayor Zandile Gumede promised to speed up the process of providing electricity and sanitation to the settlement. These were empty promises. Politicians continue to lie to people to get their votes and then send in the police to attack people when they demand what was promised to them in the first place by the politicians. The municipality continues to defy Abahlali. They don’t regard the people of Cato Crest as human beings. We are seen as rubbish. The politicians are only interested in our votes, they are not interested in our dignity, or even our lives,” said General Secretary of the movement Thapelo Mohapi.
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Despite officials from the Municipality arriving to address the community, the community said it was very clear that the politicians were continuing their lies.
“We have given the Municipality seven days in which to respond to the demands made during today’s protest failing which we will make the entire Cato Manor ungovernable. It is not our intention to cause disruption and chaos. All we want is to live dignified and safe lives. It is the disrespect of the politicians for impoverished people that leads people to react in the way that they do,” said Mohapi.
“If the politicians want to stop the protests they must not send in the police. That will only make the people even more angry. The way to stop the protests is to engage people respectfully and to build a genuinely participatory democracy. For as long as our dignity continues to be violated by the municipality we will continue to fight. We are not frightened by police who threaten us with guns. When it comes to our dignity we don’t fear anything. We cannot compromise on our dignity as human beings,” concluded Mohapi.
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