This past weekend motorists were urged to be careful when using the N12 highway as violent protest broke out in the Botleng Township in Delmas. Angry protesters torched clinics and several other buildings and tyres were burnt on the N12.
On Tuesday, February 18 protestors barricaded the three-way stop street at Pine Ridge and Leeuwpoort smallholdings.
Motorists had to turn around and use alternative routes to and fro.
The protestors waved placards in the air showing their dismay with the local municipality.
“No house, no vote,” one of the signs read.
Housing allocations, water provision and illegal foreigners in the area are the reasons the protestors turned to the drastic measures.
Residents said they are upset with the municipality’s lack of interest.
“We have been asking for houses and yet it is not made available to us,” a resident at MNS informal settlement, Mr Peter Skhosana said. He pointed at newly built RDP houses just across the road and said they are not entitled to this luxury.
“These houses are on our doorstep, but we as South African Citizens are not given the opportunity to stay in a house, but yet foreigners from Zimbabwe, Nigeria and the Congo are given these houses,” he said.
Water is also one of the priority problems the protestors demand intervention on.
They have no access to a communal tap or piped water.
A general household survey done in South Africa in 2012 and released in 2013 show that access to piped water has improved from 84.9% of households to 90.8% last year.
The survey revealed that 9.3% of households in Mpumalanga stay in informal settlements. Nationally 14.1% of households stay in informal settlements.
Mr Theo van Vuuren, the city’s administrator said a peaceful solution was found after a team consisting of Mr Selati Matlebjoane (acting head of public safety), Ben Dorfling (chief financial officer), Cllr Salome Sithole (executive mayor), MEC Andrias Gamede (Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements) and MEC Simon Skhosana (Mpumalanga Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs) met with a committee elected by the community.
“Among the discussions were development and service issues,” he said.
The committee met with the municipality again on Wednesday, February 19 to discuss practical issues to be attended to whilst a permanent solution which will include the development of the area, is being finalised.
”I am positive that the events will lead to the improvement of lives and also is a victory for democracy where we managed to negotiate a constructive peaceful way forward, where so many other municipalities have been failing,” Van Vuuren concluded.
On Tuesday Mr Theo van Vuuren, the city’s administrator and his team, met developers and the Director General of the province to discuss the way forward on a township application in the western areas. This development will produce at least 7 000 stands and bring relieve to the current land shortage in that area.
”The main challenge at this stage is to ensure sufficient bulk services, especially water and sanitation. Whilst a localised new waste water treatment system, independent from our current over burdened systems seem to be a solution, the provision of bulk water will be a greater challenge,” Van Vuuren said.
”The water master plan will first be updated to find the solution to this, before we will for certain know whether we can develop an enhanced system to in total improve on our water system. What must be noted is that, should we get this right, the pressure on the rest of our systems especially at Pine Ridge and Klarinet will be reduced. This will also relieve population pressures on the areas directly to the west of the central business area and improve service volume availability in that area.”
will amongst others further continue discussions on service delivery issues and importantly, issues to enable economic growth and employment creation.
Footage from the protest.
