Cape Town - For the second time this week,
protesters from Siqalo informal settlement burnt tyres and closed a
section of Vanguard Drive overnight.
Protests
first started on Sunday and carried on overnight into Monday morning.
Residents told the Cape Argus they were retaliating to the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) setting up a tent for voter registration in
the area. The tent was petrol bombed and destroyed on Sunday.
Seven
people were arrested for public violence after this incident and
residents said they were angry because none of these people had been
released on bail.
Trouble then flared up again last night and carried on into the early hours on Thursday.
Lacking
houses and basic services, including access to water, toilets and
electricity, residents in Siqalo say they are fed up with empty
electioneering promises by both the DA and the ANC. Boycotting and
sabotaging the IEC’s registration drive was a way to voice this
frustration, said protester Roy Nobatana.
Other residents said they had to walk about 20 minutes to get to water and the whole area stank of sewerage.
Solid
Waste Management workers were busy clearing Vanguard Drive, which
remained closed between Morgenster and the R300 until mid-morning.
By then the protests had died down and residents went about their daily chores, or looked on as the road was being cleared.
Armoured police vehicles remained at the scene while police officers armed with shotguns patrolled the area.
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