‘We are paying for their sins’

CHAOS erupted in Warrenvale, Warrenton, yesterday following a stand-off between members of the Public Order Police and the community, which resulted in the closure of the N12 after it was barricaded with rocks.

Residents took to the streets in protest against the ongoing water and electricity cuts in the town.

The protests in Warrenvale started last Thursday following an announcement that electricity cuts would be implemented in the area due to the Magareng Municipality’s outstanding R30 million debt owed to Eskom.

A notice had been issued by Eskom last year that it would implement interruptions to the bulk electricity supply to the municipality.

Yesterday, hundreds of motorists were forced to use alternative routes after the N12 was barricaded by the protesters.

The main road into Warrenvale, Buite Street, was also barricaded and motorists staying in the area had to find alternative routes home.

Buite Street became a battle zone after police and protesters refused to back down.

The protesters armed themselves with stones and petrol bombs while the police retaliated by firing rubber bullets.

The angry residents yesterday accused the municipality of making the community “pay for it sins”.

“We buy electricity from the municipality. We now have to suffer because the municipality failed to pay Eskom.

“The problems between Eskom and the municipality are now affecting us. We cannot do anything without power, while our food is left to rot in the heat. We cannot even cook properly because of the continuous power cuts.

“The municipality must settle its debt as we are paying for the services.”

The residents said that they no longer want to purchase electricity from the municipality.

“We want to purchase electricity straight from Eskom. The community in Ikageng are buying electricity from Eskom and we also want to do the same.

“The municipality does not fulfil its obligations and they now have to pay this debt. What happened to the money that was supposed to have gone to pay Eskom? We paid for our services but we are now the ones who have to suffer.”

The residents added that the municipality was failing them on several fronts.

“There are many challenges with regards to service delivery from the municipality. We have no water and now we have no electricity as well. You cannot live without water, but the municipality ignores our problems Often our taps are dry for days on end and when there is water, it is just a trickle.

Community members also accused the police of interfering and tempers escalated when the police fired rubber bullets to try and disperse the protesters, who pelted the police with stones.

“This matter is between the municipality and the community. However, it has now escalated into a fight between the police and the community. We are fighting for our rights yet the police are firing on us.”

Schools in the area were dismissed at around 11am yesterday morning due to the violent protests.

Some pupils had to sprint home when police continued to fire rubber bullets at the protesters.

One parent, Nadine Fourie, said that the police showed no regard for the pupils caught is the crossfire.

“The police are just firing at anyone and everyone. I heard that the children were dismissed early from school and I hurried to fetch my five-year-old daughter. My daughter came running to me, screaming in fear, as police fired rubber bullets. I had to quickly find a safe place for us to hide. My child was shaken and totally traumatised as a result of the incident,” said Fourie.

“The police do not take the safety of anyone into account and believe that everyone is a protester. Some people who were just innocently watching from their homes were also fired at. We cannot even go to town or walk down the street because we might get shot.”

Fourie added that the police were using “sniper tactics”.

“The police hide in the yards of some people or even between the bushes in order to shoot at protesters. On Thursday night they were dressed in black, with black beanies, and shot at people while they hid in the dark. Many innocent people were injured during the incident.”

Mavilene Bergh, a former police officer, claimed that she was assaulted by one of the officers.

“I came from Jan Kempdorp to assist my father at the bottle store. When I arrived at 6am I found the power was off. I saw a man lying in the street and when I went closer, I realised it was a family member of mine. I saw his knee was broken and helped him into the bakkie. While I was helping, I asked him how he got injured. He replied that he was assaulted by police.

“There were about five police officers standing in front of the botte store. One of the officers came to me and pointed at me, asking whether I was one of the protesters. I looked at his badge and asked him who he thought he was that he could point his finger at me. He slapped me when he saw I was looking at his name tag.

“Another man came and tried to intervene but was also assaulted. More police officers came and hit the man in the face with the back of their guns,” said Bergh.

Magareng Municipality spokesperson, Thapelo Jacobs, said yesterday that the municipality was working on addressing the challenges that the town faced.

“Last year Eskom announced that it would cut bulk electricity because the municipality was in arrears with its payments. We owe Eskom more than R30 million and the load shedding process started on January 12,” said Jacobs.

“We managed to get R1.6 million from the Frances Baard District Municipality to assist in paying the debt. We paid that money to Eskom on Friday but it was too late to send the notification of payment in order for Eskom to reconsider cutting the electricity. We had previously paid R900 000 to Eskom and we do understand that we are still greatly in arrears.”

Jacobs said that the town’s water woes were compounded by the power cuts.

“As a result of the load shedding, we are unable to pump water from the main pump station. We have a continuous water problem in the area and the load shedding has added pressure to that. We currently have a water project which we anticipate will address that challenge in the next three years.”

He added that due to lack of resources, the municipality was unable to provide the community with water tankers.

“We do not have water tanks. We only have one tractor, which is currently not working, which used to pull a huge tanker. We do not have tankers to supply the community with water. We will engage with the Department of Public Works on the matter.”

Jacobs condemned those who vandalised property and said that the municipality had played no part in the dispatching of the police.

“When a national road is jeopardised then the police use their own discretion to protect that road. We do not have any power to tell the police how to do their work.”

The protesters meanwhile said yesterday that they would continue with their protest action and would block the N12 until their concerns were addressed.

Police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Mooi, said that police are monitoring the situation.

“The police are monitoring the situation after community members barricaded the N12 road in Warrenton. The road was opened for traffic late in the afternoon and traffic was slowly flowing. One person has been arrested for public violence. The situation is tense but police will continue to monitor it,” said Mooi.