Community members in Wesselton went on a rampage last week Thursday and Friday, protesting over various issues which included notices to vacate land and the alleged lack of service delivery.
Residents living near Ext 7 blocked the N11 Hendrina Road, Thusi Village robot intersection, on Thursday night, 24 January, after they had been served with notices to vacate the land they had built their structures on.
The land, which is privately owned, was invaded by residents in March last year.
The municipal land next to the privately owned piece of land, called Ext 7, has been a bone of contention in the past two years.
Thousands of Wesselton residents invaded the land near Thusi Village in early 2017.
The municipality took the matter to court and won, preventing anyone from erecting markings or dwellings on the land.
The municipality began building low-cost houses on the land in August 2017.
According to the municipality at the time, military veterans from the liberation struggle and registered residents were listed as candidates to receive the housing.
Residents were livid on Tuesday, 22 January after they were served with a 48-hour notice to vacate the land.
They blocked the road on Thursday evening, preventing any vehicles from passing through.
Ermelo Police were called to the scene and after peaceful talks between the two parties, the crowd dispersed.
Residents from Ward 17 also protested on Friday, 25 January over the service delivery or alleged lack thereof.
The community, comprising of the various sections including the Steve Biko Informal Settlement and Mazakhele, took to the streets, blocking major routes into Wesselton, burning tyres and preventing any person from entering or exiting Ward 17 till their demands were met.
According to one of their leaders, the community was also not satisfied with the response they had gotten from Msukaligwa Municipality after their previous organised march.
Residents had taken to the streets in October last year, demanding service delivery in a march to the municipality buildings where a memorandum was handed over.
In the memorandum handed over in October, Steve Biko residents wanted the following:
• Clean and healthy water.
• The mine hole near the settlement to be closed completely.
• Residents demand a demarcation board.
• The formalisation of stands.
Mazakhele residents, on the other hand, demanded:
• A sewer pipeline promised to them be installed immediately.
• The 18 low-cost houses promised to Nelson Mandela Village residents be built as soon as possible.
• The deteriorating roads in Mazakhele to be re-constructed immediately.
The Executive Mayor of Msukaligwa, Mr Joseph Mkhaliphi, came and addressed the protesters on Friday and vowed to attend to the matters raised. The crowd dispersed after talks with the mayor.
The situation remains tense in neighbouring Breyten, after residents from KwaZanele also took to the streets in a week-long service delivery protest in the week of 14 to 18 January.
Residents also barricaded routes into Breyten and prevented learners from going to school.
Tempers flared up again on Friday, 25 January when the community members that were arrested during the protests, appeared in the Breyten Magistrate’s Court.
Residents accompanied the police vans escorting the suspects and protested outside the court.
According to Breyten Police spokesman, Sgt Thabo Mashegoane, the case was postponed to 1 February for further investigations.
