A small section of the N2 between Nomzamo and Chris Nissen Village was closed on Monday (22 August) for almost two hours as residents protested against service-delivery woes.
Motorists had to use alternative routes as a single section of the N2 was closed down.
The protest, which started at 07:00, concluded at 09:15, after 80 protesters decided to close down the N2 at Onverwacht Road to make sure their issues voiced were heard.
Norman McFarlane, Ward 84 councillor, met with residents of Chris Nissen Park, who handed him a memorandum.
“The community presented a memorandum of demands about service-delivery issues, to which I responded directly,” he said.
McFarlane then met with the community and explained the circumstances around each point raised.
“I inherited many of these issues from my predecessor, some of which go back 10 years. Some others are not within the purview of the City, as I explained to the community.”
Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, spokesperson for Somerset West police, confirms a case of public violence was opened after several tyres were burnt and the road was closed.
“I was notified by the police and I arrived on the scene at 07:40. Once I had addressed the community, they immediately set about clearing the roads,” added McFarlane.
Somerset West confirmed Public Order Police (Pops) had contained the group and the N2 was re-opened after the protest ended at 09:15.
He mentioned one burning issue is a flooding problem at the north-eastern sector of Chris Nissen Park, where a number of houses in Copper Street are subject to flooding during the winter rain season.
“The flooding originates from a property on the north-eastern border of Chris Nissen Park, one of four such developments in the Pine Creek/Pine Hurst area,” said McFarlane. “The developer has been sequestered and declared insolvent. The property is now effectively abandoned. Since it is a private property the City cannot legally enter and address the outstanding stormwater and sewage civil works, which appear to be the source of flooding.
He agreed to respond to the community’s memorandum of demands within 14 days.
McFarlane stated the problematic property in Chris Nissen Park had been reported to the City’s Problem Building Unit.
“Once the required legal processes have taken place it will be declared a Problem Building, and the City can take necessary action to address the problem,” he said.
