Roads in Colville and Floors were closed off to traffic yesterday morning during a service delivery protest, while rubber bullets were fired in St Peter’s Road.
ROADS in Colville and Floors were closed off to traffic yesterday morning during a service delivery protest, while rubber bullets were fired in St Peter’s Road.
Pupils at Endeavour Primary School were dismissed early due to safety concerns.
Former councillor Martin le Grange gave the Sol Plaatje executive mayor, Kagisho Sonyoni, 48 hours to respond to the community’s grievances, failing which he warned that Colville and Floors would come to a complete standstill.
The community became rowdy when Sonyoni told them that they should wait nine weeks for the implementation of service delivery programmes.
He indicated that 55 shacks in Colville would be electrified and took strong offence to allegations that he was “a puppet on a string” and that he was being controlled by the ANC regional chairperson, Mangaliso Matika.
Residents complained that they had been living in appalling conditions for the past 13 years.
“Now we are being told to wait another nine weeks. The mayor was supposed to get back to us in July and it is already September. They want to divert the funds so that they can win the upcoming Ward 1 by-election in Roodepan. Why are only 55 shacks receiving electricity,” they asked.
Le Grange stated that appointments and jobs were being “remotely controlled” by the ANC.
“When last was there a coloured mayor?”
He stated that grievances included the Karee Road paving project in Floors, where workers have left the site due to non-payment and a lack of building materials, while they were also unhappy over the shocking state of other roads in the area.
“The community wants bulk services to be installed, such as electricity and sanitation, at their shacks. Lethabo Park has been electrified while the informal settlement in Colville existed long before Lethabo Park was established.”
Le Grange questioned what the R13 million that was allocated to provide electricity to 151 shacks was spent on.
“Millions of rand are spent on political pomp and ceremony and to rename buildings while the drains are overflowing and people are living in squalor.”
He later agreed to give the mayor until October 15 to meet their deadline.
