eThekwini mayor condemns burning of community centre

Municipality spokesman, Msawakhe Mayisela, stated that residents were demanding among others, electricity infrastructure following experiencing a power outage after being disconnected by residents in the formal housing settlement.

“This is after the transformer burst as a result of illegal connections and it has since been replaced. The informal settlement is situated under the power lines and on invaded land belonging to the provincial government. As a result, the city is hamstrung to roll out infrastructure,” said Mayisela.

eThekwini mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, has condemned the incident and called law enforcement agencies to find those implicated in the destruction of state property.

“While we respect the right of the people to embark on peaceful protests, we view this latest incident in a very serious light. In fact, this is anarchy. How do you demand electricity and destroy state property that is of help to the community? This is treason as far as we are concerned and there is no amount of grievances that would justify this inhumane behaviour. Those responsible must face the full might of the law, nothing else,” said Cllr Kaunda.

The offices that were set alight were home to a Sassa office and a clinic belonging to the provincial government.

“Our people, more especially the elderly are now going to endure spending money travelling long distances to access these services that were on their door steps. We are back to square one and where is the money going to come from to repair these offices. The city is plagued with land invasions and that is a recipe for illegal electricity and water connections. As a result, our electricity transformers become over burdened and then malfunction.

Nevertheless, our electricians are on the ground and have restored power in all areas that have been affected by this unlawful conduct. The city with limited resources is trying its level best to roll out these basic services. To date we have electrified more than 500 informal settlements while we are gradually moving them to formal housing. Yes, it is a moving target but we will never stop while all odds stack against us,” said Cllr Kaunda.

The mayor is calling on residents to refrain from embarking on violent service delivery protests in the event they have grievances. Instead he says, there must be dialogue.

Lt Col Khumalo from Lamontville SAPS said that police officers were at the scene on Lushezi Road and had managed to disperse the protesting crowd. He added that three vehicles belonging to the Social Development Department and three others belonging to eThekwini Metro Police were burnt by the protesters.

It is alleged that a truck was also burnt along South Coast Road, underneath the Pendle Bury bridge.

According to information obtained at the scene, the truck was stopped by the protesting residents as they were burning tyres along South Coast Road. They tried to loot the truck, only to find that it had no cargo and subsequently burnt it. Firefighters were also at the scene and managed to douse the various fires burning in the area.