GEORGE NEWS - Neither the George Municipality nor the leaders of the Zone 8 community wanted to divulge whether agreement had been reached between them at a meeting held on 14 August.
The meeting followed after an illegal protest, which took place in Thembalethu on Wednesday 12 July.
During the protest, several vehicles, three of them police vehicles, were damaged when protesters threw stones at them.
Three other vehicles were also set alight. The protesters blocked the entrance to Thembalethu, throwing stones and burning tyres.
The police had to use stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Thembalethu Police communication officer Captain Dumile Gwavu said at the time that two vehicles, belonging to the municipality and MSec Security, had been completely burned out and that more arrests may follow as the investigation continues.
The riots started after the protestors received a letter from the municipality on Tuesday 11 July in response to their housing and service delivery grievances, which they had forwarded to the municipality during a peaceful march on Tuesday 27 June.
They were unsatisfied with the contents of the letter. Aviwe Mbangu, one of the Zone 8 leaders, said, "No decision was taken at the meeting, only recommendations were passed. All we can say is that we are giving the municipality space and time to respond to some of the issues we have raised."
Chantel Edwards-Klose, George Municipality spokesperson, was also non-committal. "Due to the sensitive nature of this matter, George Municipality would not like to derail the current process by a premature comment," she said.
Read a related article: Thembalethu riots case postponed
ARTICLE & PHOTO: ZOLANI SINXO, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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