PEACE and calm have finally returned to Diepsloot after a recent violent protest.
This after Ward 95 councillor, Abraham Mabuke addressed a community meeting at Rabasotho School on 29 June to find solutions to complaints raised by Diepsloot Ext 10 residents.
The protest was sparked by the locking of taps at the Diepsloot Shopping Mall Complex which was the source of water to Ext 10 residents. Mabuke told Fourways Review on 30 June that the water problem had been resolved. “The area currently has water, but they are also busy adding more water pipes in the area. It is calm now,” said Mabuke.
The councillor explained that the area was not necessarily without water, but pointed out that the water supply was only available in the evening and was cut at 3am.
Mabuke added that Eskom technicians were also in the area fixing the electricity problem. He attributed the problem to the community’s tendency to illegally connect power. “It is not only an Eskom problem but the community’s as well, which is overloading the Eskom system.”
He also denied allegations of nepotism levelled against him in the appointment of community liaison officers (CLO) for the major capital projects in the area. “Councillors do not appoint CLOs, but we collect CVs and submit them at the regional offices where interviews are conducted. And the ANC youth leader which people are complaining about is not even an ANC ward, but a Democratic Alliance ward. The interviews were conducted and people were appointed,” said Mabuke.
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He also denied that employees at the local two government clinics, OR Tambo and Diepsloot South, were fired. The councillor said healthcare workers from a non-governmental organisation accommodated at the clinics were having problems with their organisation and sponsors. “Their fights were disturbing the operations of the clinics and the Gauteng Department of Health was left with no option except to remove them,” said Mabuke.
