Update
GEORGE NEWS - Staging a riotous protest on Friday 23 March, residents of Thembalethu informal settlements forced George Municipality's to resolve their grievances. This came after a peaceful march to the municipality on Monday 19 March, during which they had handed over a memorandum setting out their grievances, which included lack of proper housing, sanitation and water. Mayor Melvin Naik had committed to replying by Thursday.
The leader of the marchers, Xola Swapi, said that by Thursday there was still no clear indication from the George Municipality whether their demands would be met and this is why protesters, residents of Mandela Village, Ramaphosa, France, and Kapa started to block the entrance to Thembalethu, as well as parts of the N2 highway at about 02:00 on Friday morning.
After being pushed back by the police to near All Bricks hall, the protesters demanded to meet with municipal officials. The municipality sent representatives to meet Swapi and his delegation. The parties met at the Thembalethu police station, where it was agreed that the municipality will ensure that electricity will be installed within two months from 24 March. R1-million has already been made available to start the project.
Expressing his excitement about this agreement, Swapi said, "We are happy that we have reached an agreement with the municipality. This means victory to the people of Thembalethu. We hope that they will deliver on their promises."
Director of Human Settlements Charles Lubbe confirmed that residents from France, All Bricks, Mandela Village, Damini, Rhodesia (Zone 7) and Telkom informal settlements protested regarding a range of issues.
Police and protesters during a stand-off. Photos: Zolani Sinxo
"One of the major issues is the lack of electricity infrastructure, which leads to illegal tapping of electricity from neighbouring formal housing networks, which then trips the electricity to the entire area and leaves everyone in the dark - which is a major point of friction between the communities," said Lubbe.
He added that the municipality has agreed to supply temporary infrastructure which will enable the informal areas to buy and access electricity legally, without tripping the network because of overload on the lines.
"Planning and implementation to the value of R1-million has been allocated towards this project. People will be on site tomorrow (24 March) to identify the most suitable sites for infrastructure placement and detailed planning will commence on Monday.
"A working committee of municipal officials and community leaders has been established to ensure regular feedback and cooperation," he said.
Police vehicles attended to the protest.
"The municipality is fast-tracking an application to the Western Cape government to access Interim Services Support Programme (ISSP) funding to assist with the supply of temporary water and sanitary supply infrastructure. Other infrastructure needs will become part of the future budgeting process as per the Integrated Development Plan."
Thembalethu police communications officer Captain Dumile Gwavu has confirmed that two men, aged 39 and 42, were arrested for public violence in the course of the protest. The men were released on R800 bail each.
Read previous articles:
- Update: Protestors reach agreement
- Update: Protest in Thembalethu
- Update: Protest in Thembalethu
- Protest action in Thembalethu
- Shack dwellers demand services
- Service delivery march ends peacefully
- Thembalethu protest march update
- Protest march heading to George Municipality
- Impact of protest march on GO GEORGE
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