Protesters force Nelson Mandela Bay councillors to walk through sewage

Nelson Mandela Bay councillors who had come to deliver gifts to poor families in Peace Village, Kariega, last week were sent packing by furious residents.

The vehicles of the five councillors were blocked from entering the area.

Residents stormed out of their RDP houses, blew whistles and burnt tyres. They ordered the leaders to drive in a convoy through stinking Sakhwatsha Street instead.

Read: Cities are the key to SA’s future prosperity

A South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) bakkie and a municipal truck carrying sand to be put on the street where the event was to be held were chased out of the area.

“All convoys must drive through Sakhwatsha Street,” shouted resident Lwamila Tayi, who was one of the protesters.

Protesters sang “amabhul’ amnyama andenziwari (black boers make me worried)” and “isikhalo somntwana sihoye (attend to a crying child)”.

Sakhwatsha Street and other streets in the area have been in a mess for years, with open drains, overflowing sewage, trenches, broken bottles and overgrown grass.

Protesters blocked the streets to divert the councillors’ convoy. Image: Thamsanqa Mbovane/GroundUp

“When we call an ambulance, it can’t drive through Sakhwatsha Street. When we need police vans, they can’t access RDP homes through Sakhwatsha Street because this stinking street is very bad,” said Tayi.

She told the visiting leaders: “We are not against your 67-minute [Mandela Day] project. All we want is that you must drive through Sakhwatsha Street and feel the pain. We are surrounded by stinking drains.”

Another resident, Mzwakhe Nyiki, said the councillors had brought a truck to make temporary repairs on the streets they were planning to visit. “What about the ones we have been reporting for over five years that are bad?” he asked.

Resident Vusumzi Celem shouted: “We are not here to talk to you. No negotiations. We have been reporting drains, stinking streets to deaf ears. And getting reference numbers doesn’t help because no one is fixing anything. We are not against your event, but we are saying: drive through Sakhwatsha Street.”

Listen/read:
Only 14.5% of municipalities obtained a clean audit – AG report
Let Eskom take over, fed-up Nelson Mandela Bay chamber asks Nersa
Our immediate priority is to end cholera outbreak: President

Councillors Lungile Langbooi, Sabelo Mabuda, Yolisa Pali (mayco member for corporate services), Bongani Mani and Makhi Feni suggested that a meeting be held, but Langbooi reminded the protesters that they had burned his office during a protest for electricity.

Celem said: “We are angry now. We are not willing to be addressed now. They must just do a convoy on Sakhwatsha Street.”

Angry residents refused to allow the councillors to deliver the Mandela Day gifts they had brought. Image: Thamsanqa Mbovane/GroundUp

Finally, Pali and her fellow councillors had to tip-toe along Sakhwatsha and Siboni Streets after being ordered by protesters to go and see the condition of the streets with their own eyes.

When they came back, they addressed the protesters. Pali said: “Give us a chance because that street [Sakhwatsha Street] needs resources, and it’s a long-term project to be undertaken.”

“We will make sure the streets are fixed,” she promised.

Read:
Capital expenditure in metros sorely lacking
Mpumalanga residents head to court to halt 20-hours-a-day power cuts
Court victory for Mpumalanga residents facing 14-hours-a-day power cuts

© 2023 GroundUp. This article was first published here.