Update: 18 September: Calm has returned to Westonaria after the violent service delivery protests that broke out this morning. Residents of Bekkersdal and Simunye burned tyres, smashed car windows with bricks, barricaded roads and pelted police with stones after Westonaria Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Nonkoliso Tundzi reportedly once again failed to show up and address residents about their service delivery related concerns.
This after West Rand District Mayor, Mpho Nawa arrived on the scene to try and reason with the out of control crowd, and he managed to make a bargain with them.
Nawa received a memorandum from the leaders of the violent uprising and promised to give urgent attention to their conerns.
According to Thabang Wesi who represented the protestors, residents want Westonaria Local Municipality Executive Mayor Nonkoliso Tundzi to step down from her position as she is, according to them “unable to run the town”.
“We want her, together with the executive members, to step down from their positions and hand in their resignations.
“Until then, we will make the streets ungovernable by all means.
“She is dismally failing in running this town and we are tired of excuses.” says Wesi.
Meanwhile, peace has been restored in the area and police have everything under control.
Nawa has committed himself to addressing the issue at hand and will revert back to residents late next week.
18 September: Residents of Bekkersdal are staging another violent service delivery protest and are smashing car windows with bricks, burning tyres and blocking off roads.Residents are also pelting police officers with stones.
Herald reporter Mbali Mathebula reports from the scene that she and a number of other journalists were trapped in Bekkersdal between police and protesting residents for more than an hour and had to scramble to keep out of the line of fire.
Police fired rubber bullets at the protestors but this just seemed to make matters worse.
Violence apparently flared up when Westonaria Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Nonkoliso Tundzi, once again failed to show up to address the community’s concerns in terms of service delivery.
The Herald has received further reports that another protest action has also broken out in neighbouring Simunye and that resident of the two areas will meet up and continue the protest together.
According to one source, West Rand District Executive Mayor Mpho Nawa has been called in to try and reason with the protestors.
There is as yet no indication on whether he will show up.
