Fluerhof residents vow to return to the streets if demands aren’t met

Roads going in and out of Fleurhof were inaccessible as residents took to the streets during a service delivery protest on Thursday, May 18.

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They barricaded roads with rocks, burning tires and rubble.

The widely publicised protest which affected Meadowlands and Main Reef road was the latest response to what they termed ‘unanswered grievances’, as it marked a full month since they handed over a memorandum of demands at the premiers office in April.

One of the community leaders, Selby Leshaba said they realised that they were being taken for fools after convening a meeting with the mayor’s office and nothing tangible came from it.

It was after this meeting, that the community rejected ‘unfavorable’ feedback and decided to go for a shut down again.

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“The resolution that occurred during that initial meeting is that we must engage but how do you engage on such very important issues when you have nothing. You must have something on the table but they were coming empty handed, City Power says they don’t have a budget, the same thing with Joburg Water and housing. We saw that they are taking us for a ride,” he said.

According to the residents, the government has failed their community, as everyday there were emerging issues, adding that they were unhappy that after 14 years living in the area, they still lacked development.

They said their grievances include illegal mining, lack of infrastructure and poor services citing that the shutdown was their last resort to get government to hear their cries.

“We have illegal mining happening in the area and government is doing nothing about it. There are also illegal immigrants who are occupying the former hostel building.

“It was supposed to be demolished a long time ago and it hasn’t. Now it is housing illegal immigrants, criminals and drugs coming from there.

“We are saying that we don’t want that hostel. Shacks are mushrooming, and we know that foreigners are renting out those shacks,” Leshaba told Urban News.

Leshaba said they were also demanding essential infrastructure like additional schools and a clinic to be built for the community. They also called for a police station for the area, citing that Florida SAPS does not have enough resources or capacity to service their community.

“We are not happy, there are a lot of issues that need to be handled by government and us as the community we feel like we have been failed,” he added.

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City of Johannesburg Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda who was there with former JHB housing MMC, Dan Bovu agreed with residents to form a task team of intergovernmental relations that is going to monitor the progress of the issues raised on the memorandum.

The Mayor said the committee will liaise with various stakeholders to seek permanent solutions.

He asked residents to be patient while they resolve the issue of hostel demolition as it could infringe on occupants human rights, much to the disapproval and groans of residents who said it’s been years waiting, and their rights as citizens were being violated.

“I am committed to meeting experts so that we can come up with immediate and long term solutions so we don’t close today and tomorrow it’s the same problem.

“Before the seven days is up, you will begin to see changes in the community,” Gwamanda assured residents in his address.

“One of my priorities is to increase the quality of service that we provide for our communities which means safety is at the top of them all,” he said.