Residents from the Phumlani informal settlement in Mfuleni boycotted the Local Government Elections on Wednesday 4 November, protesting along Fourie Road and demanding service delivery.

They accused political parties of manipulating them to get into power, only to forget them afterwards.

Community leader Bathandwa Gali said it was high time to teach the political parties a lesson. He accused the parties of taking them for granted. Gali said all they needed was the installation of communal water taps, temporary toilets and electricity.

No service delivery, no vote

“No service delivery, no vote. We are sick and tired of politicians who are using us for their own benefit. No one listened to us when we were crying. This year alone we marched to the Civic Centre and the Provincial Legislature twice, in July and August, to deliver a memorandum with our grievances. To this day, we have not received any response,” said Gali.

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He added that they had even participated in political debates held at Mfuleni prior the elections, wanting to share their plight, but still no one came forward.

March was peaceful, Gali says

Gali stressed that their march was peaceful and did not disrupt anything. He stated that they were willing to work with any political party that could assist them.

“We have been living without water, electricity and temporary toilets for almost seven years. If we want water, we ask for it from neighbouring areas. Most of us here are relieving ourselves in the bush. Others have dug pit toilets. Some people have illegally connected electricity,” explained Gali. He vowed to continue protesting after the elections.

City silent on enquiry

Efforts to obtain a comment from the City were fruitless, as it had not responded to our media enquiry by the time of going to print.