Irate shack dwellers of Thembeni and Mpolweni informal settlements in Makhaza, Khayelitsha (ward 95) took to the streets again on Monday 8 September, barricading Baden Powell Drive with stones and burning tyres demanding service delivery.
Last month the same resident held a protest on the same spot, the corner of Japhta K Masemola Road and Baden Powell Drive, demanding the same services. (“Makhaza shack dwellers accuse City of playing ‘hide and seek’”, City Vision, 21 August).
They said they were on a mission to bring the city to a standstill.
Resident Fire Phekwa said they wanted electricity. He said for him it had been almost five years of living in an area without proper services.
“We tried to engage with the City and Eskom, but our grievances fell on deaf ears. There is little development in the area. We are not going to stop protesting as long as we are not getting what we want.”
Another resident, Luthando April, said the ward councillor was supportive because he had tried by all means to provide what he could.
He lambasted the City for playing political games and marginalising informal settlements.
April said it was just the beginning, and more protests were coming. “We are testing the waters. We will mobilise all the informal settlements in Khayelitsha and other neighbouring areas and go to the N2 and R300. We are not playing here. We will do that in the daytime.”
The City, in response to an email about the protests from City Vision, said Eskom supplied the power so it should comment.
The provincial spokesperson for the power utility, Zanele Bukani, said it required a locality map of the indicated areas.
“Residents are advised to contact their local municipal official first to request electrification of new areas,” she said, “as Eskom requires municipal approvals for electrification of any informal area.”
Provincial police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg said Public Order Police had been deployed to monitor and stabilise a service-delivery protest this morning (Tuesday 9 September) in Baden Powell Drive, between Walter Sisulu Drive and the N2 highway.
“According to reports, approximately 80 community members are staging the protest and throwing stones. The road has been closed in both directions. Offers deployment will stay in the affected area until the situation has normalised.”
