Mayor Helen Zille has held urgent discussions with community leaders in informal settlements after last night's violent protests in Khayelitsha, sparked by frustrations over housing and service delivery after widespread floods.
Residents, angry over lack of housing and aid in the wake of heavy flooding caused by winter storms, ran amok yesterday, burning tyres and garbage on the N2 and Lansdowne Road and pelting passing vehicles with rocks.
Residents accused the area's ward councillor, Elsie Kwayinto, of failing to deliver on promises of a better place to stay.
Today Zille ditched a Mayco meeting to visit residents and survey damage in the rain-ravaged Europe and Barcelona informal settlements in Khayelitsha.
This was after she visited waterlogged informal settlements last night in response to the rioting.
Today Zille described the lack of proper housing and services as a "terrible situation".
"We have a housing backlog of 400 000 and there are 228 completely unserviced informal settlements around Cape Town," she said.
Ward councillors and city officials had to respond to sharp questioning from the mayor on issues other than just the recent flooding.
Zille demanded an explanation for the rivers of rubbish flowing from modified shipping containers. She said community contractors were getting contracts but not doing the work.
Shortly before noon, a group of angry protesters met the mayor on her walkabout, saying they wanted houses, not food. Barcelona residents were scheduled to be moved to the N2 Gateway.
Last night police officers closed Lansdowne Road after protests there got out of hand. Protestors also ran amok on the N2.
At about 6.15pm yesterday, a large group of residents gathered at the N2 roadside near the airport approach road and hurled rubbish at passing cars, creating a large pile that blocked two lanes.
With traffic forced into one lane, protesters flooded on to the highway and set fire to the mounds of rubbish scattered across the road.
When the police arrived at 6.30pm, the crowd was dancing on the N2 and threatening motorists in stalled cars. Trash was thrown on to vehicles coming from the other direction.
When the crowd would not allow the first police vehicle to pass through, it sped through the throng of people and was buffeted by bursting rubbish bags flung its way.
As seven police cars descended on the chaos, police officers wielding shotguns chased the fleeing crowd to the roadside, where they continued to dance and sing.
Police officers then kicked the rubbish to the roadside and put out the flames, allowing traffic to resume. Police said no injuries had been reported and no arrests had been made.
Yesterday's protest in Site B started on Lansdowne Road near Bonga Drive about 4pm when about 10 women lined the road, holding tyres and cans of petrol.
As the tyres were laid across the road and set alight, more people emerged and added rubbish and debris to the growing inferno, forcing cars to turn back.
Protesters gathered in groups chanting slogans demanding service delivery and singing "Elilizwe lokhokho bethu", Xhosa for "We are fighting for our ancestors' land".
Two Golden Arrow buses were stoned and hit with planks and pieces of wood as they tried to pass the barricade by driving up on to the pavement. No one was injured.
Protesters also barricaded Siya-mthanda Street, which runs parallel to Lansdowne Road and is a slipway road to Bonga Drive.
At 6.30pm, police officers arrived with shotguns and rifles drawn. They escorted a fire truck down Lansdowne Road to extinguish the numerous flaming piles of rubbish.
"We are burning this here because our houses are still flooded and no one has come to help," said Nombumelelo Gcwape, a 42-year-old Khayelitsha resident.
"We don't want food and blankets. We want houses, we want to move out of here."
Mbuyiselo Dyasi, who has lived in Khayelitsha for 10 years, said he was fed up with the city and councillor Kwayinto, who had made "empty promises" such as providing high-lying land for settlement.
"Today we protest so that something can be done."
Kwayinto said she had made no promises about placing the people in new settlements as there simply was not enough land to accommodate them. "All places are flooded and no solution will happen today," she said.
In recent weeks, protests over the slow pace of delivery have erupted around the country, including in Alexandra and Kliptown in Soweto.
Yesterday Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi released a list of 65 questions for public comment on what steps should be taken to improve local governance and service delivery.
Originally published in the Cape Times 1 August 2007
Residents, angry over lack of housing and aid in the wake of heavy flooding caused by winter storms, ran amok yesterday, burning tyres and garbage on the N2 and Lansdowne Road and pelting passing vehicles with rocks.
Residents accused the area's ward councillor, Elsie Kwayinto, of failing to deliver on promises of a better place to stay.
Today Zille ditched a Mayco meeting to visit residents and survey damage in the rain-ravaged Europe and Barcelona informal settlements in Khayelitsha.
AN “emergency signal” created with burning tyres was sent out by residents of Philippi
This was after she visited waterlogged informal settlements last night in response to the rioting.
Today Zille described the lack of proper housing and services as a "terrible situation".
"We have a housing backlog of 400 000 and there are 228 completely unserviced informal settlements around Cape Town," she said.
Ward councillors and city officials had to respond to sharp questioning from the mayor on issues other than just the recent flooding.
Zille demanded an explanation for the rivers of rubbish flowing from modified shipping containers. She said community contractors were getting contracts but not doing the work.
Shortly before noon, a group of angry protesters met the mayor on her walkabout, saying they wanted houses, not food. Barcelona residents were scheduled to be moved to the N2 Gateway.
Last night police officers closed Lansdowne Road after protests there got out of hand. Protestors also ran amok on the N2.
At about 6.15pm yesterday, a large group of residents gathered at the N2 roadside near the airport approach road and hurled rubbish at passing cars, creating a large pile that blocked two lanes.
With traffic forced into one lane, protesters flooded on to the highway and set fire to the mounds of rubbish scattered across the road.
When the police arrived at 6.30pm, the crowd was dancing on the N2 and threatening motorists in stalled cars. Trash was thrown on to vehicles coming from the other direction.
When the crowd would not allow the first police vehicle to pass through, it sped through the throng of people and was buffeted by bursting rubbish bags flung its way.
As seven police cars descended on the chaos, police officers wielding shotguns chased the fleeing crowd to the roadside, where they continued to dance and sing.
Police officers then kicked the rubbish to the roadside and put out the flames, allowing traffic to resume. Police said no injuries had been reported and no arrests had been made.
Yesterday's protest in Site B started on Lansdowne Road near Bonga Drive about 4pm when about 10 women lined the road, holding tyres and cans of petrol.
As the tyres were laid across the road and set alight, more people emerged and added rubbish and debris to the growing inferno, forcing cars to turn back.
Protesters gathered in groups chanting slogans demanding service delivery and singing "Elilizwe lokhokho bethu", Xhosa for "We are fighting for our ancestors' land".
Two Golden Arrow buses were stoned
Two Golden Arrow buses were stoned and hit with planks and pieces of wood as they tried to pass the barricade by driving up on to the pavement. No one was injured.
Protesters also barricaded Siya-mthanda Street, which runs parallel to Lansdowne Road and is a slipway road to Bonga Drive.
At 6.30pm, police officers arrived with shotguns and rifles drawn. They escorted a fire truck down Lansdowne Road to extinguish the numerous flaming piles of rubbish.
"We are burning this here because our houses are still flooded and no one has come to help," said Nombumelelo Gcwape, a 42-year-old Khayelitsha resident.
"We don't want food and blankets. We want houses, we want to move out of here."
Mbuyiselo Dyasi, who has lived in Khayelitsha for 10 years, said he was fed up with the city and councillor Kwayinto, who had made "empty promises" such as providing high-lying land for settlement.
"Today we protest so that something can be done."
Kwayinto said she had made no promises about placing the people in new settlements as there simply was not enough land to accommodate them. "All places are flooded and no solution will happen today," she said.
In recent weeks, protests over the slow pace of delivery have erupted around the country, including in Alexandra and Kliptown in Soweto.
Yesterday Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi released a list of 65 questions for public comment on what steps should be taken to improve local governance and service delivery.
Originally published in the Cape Times 1 August 2007
1 comment:
(To the song "We are Sailing")
We are burning we are burning
Protest delivery "Give to Me"
We are burning we are burning
From sea to sea
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