Alex Shutdown on a bid to stop Mashaba

The Alex Shutdown committee has opened a case against Mayor Herman Mashaba with hope to stop the City from rebuilding illegal structures demolished by the Red Ants in May this year.

The Alex Shutdown embarked on yet another protest to the Region E offices in Sandton on 19 June to demand action on a memorandum delivered early this year. The memorandum contained among other things, the mushrooming of illegal structures, poor service delivery, housing and uncollected rubbish.

Marching from Alexandra to Sandton under heavy police presence, the Alex Shutdown protesters were met by a closed gate at the regional offices and no sign of an official to address them. “It is depressing for public officials not to attend to community members but we will continue consulting with the community on a way forward with the matter,” said Alex Shutdown spokesperson, Bobby Solomons.

Following the no show from municipal officials, the protesters proceeded to Alexandra Police Station where the committee’s secretary Thandiwe Mthombeni opened a case against Mashaba for promising to rebuild illegal houses on a land where there is an existing court order obtained by the City of Johannesburg in 2016.

Mashaba visited residents of the demolished 80 illegal structures near Marlboro, adjacent to the Gautrain rail bridge, shortly after the incident. He promised that the City would rebuild the houses.

“The City of Johannesburg is going against the court order and setting a bad precedent to the people of Alexandra. We are now seeing people erecting structures in dangerous and inhabitable areas with hope that they will be prioritised for houses. We are not against the provision of housing but we are calling for fairness, order and lawful practice,” said Solomons.

When protesters returned to Alex, the township had come to a standstill and business was halted. Some roads were barricaded with burning tyres and heaps of uncollected rubbish was placed on the side of the streets. Member of the Alex Shutdown Committee and the Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce Themeni Manana said the City needs to implement by-laws holistically and not selectively by also ensuring that Somalians occupying spaza shops are legally documented and operating within the laws of the country. She further urged the City to prioritise service delivery in Alexandra.

“It is unfortunate that we have to take it to the streets while our parents fought so that we don’t have to fight in the streets the same way they did. The rubbish in Sandton is collected one or twice a week while in Alexandra it is collected once in two weeks. We have a long way to go as long as the dignity of a black person is questioned by the same government that should be implementing plans to better the lives of the people,” said Manana.

In a statement, Mashaba said there was no doubt that the Alex Shutdown Movement was a politically sponsored vehicle, driven for the purposes of the General Elections. “The revelation of the ring-leaders of this movement being linked to the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) contracts have made this very clear. There must be no question, the people of Alexandra have very legitimate, long-standing and deep-seated grievances with how they have been treated. Their living conditions and lack of housing opportunities are a product of how funds intended for Alexandra have been pillaged with impunity for decades.”

However, Solomons said politics had nothing to do with the living conditions faced by the people of Alexandra. “We have had allegations that we are protesting because it’s a different political party in power. The rubbish on the streets and health hazards affect everyone despite the colour of the T-shirt they are wearing. If there are members of the committee involved in any corruption related to the ARP, we are calling for their arrest.”

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