Watch: Windmill Park and Holomisa residents protest over service delivery
The SAPS and metro officers have been deployed to the area to monitor the situation closely.
A group of protesters from Windmill Park and Holomisa took to the streets this morning and blockaded the stretch of Barry Marais Road between the prison and the R21 with burning tyres and rocks.
Residents have also barricaded roads leading to the township in protest against poor service delivery.
According to one of the community leaders in Windmill Park, Leon Rooi, they started protesting at 3.30am.
“Some of the reasons we are protesting are that our electricity has been cut off by the municipality since last week due to non-payment. We are also demanding a taxi rank because whenever we want to go to town we must walk long distances to catch a taxi along Barry Marais,” he said.
The community is also demanding houses and employment opportunities.
“Crime in our area is very rife because young people are not working so they have resorted to crime to survive,” Rooi said.
Rooi added they will continue protesting until someone from the metro comes to address them.
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Meanwhile, the community has also enforced a total shutdown to all three schools in Windmill Park, including Windmill Park Primary, Windmill Park Secondary and Thulasizwe Primary School.
Learners also didn’t go to school after the community leaders notified principals from the three schools about the protest.
Windmill Park Primary principal Oscar Lekoane said he notified parents on March 17 not to bring their children to school after he received a letter concerning the strike on March 15.
“It is sad that the closure of the school today due to the strike will have a negative impact on the learners’ academic performances because already not all learners of the school are coming to school every day. The little time we have is now wasted,” he said.
The residents of Holomisa informal settlement are also calling for developments in their area. The police and EMPD officers are monitoring the situation closely.
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