KINROSS – Angry residents of Marikana Section blocked the R29 to Leandra and the railway line last week in protest over poor service delivery.
The violent protest erupted on Sunday 4 October and continued until Thursday, 8 October.
The residents are not happy with the manner in which the Govan Mbeki Municipality is delivering services in the area. They claim that their living conditions are deteriorating every day and the municipality has forgotten about them. They are only remembered during elections time.
The residents said though the area was declared a formal settlement, they are still being treated as invaders.
At the centre of their grievances is the delay of allocation of stands in the area.
“They must continue were they ended, we are now in level 1.
“They must fast-track this process because people are anxious.
“There is no service delivery at all in this area, we are not treated as human beings,” said a resident who wanted to remain anonymous.
The residents complained about water supply and said the communal taps are not enough and that people have to queue to get water. They said roads are bad and never maintained.
They criticised the Ward councillor, Ms Rose Nkabinde, and claimed that she never attend to their issues.
Ms Nkabinde denied these allegations and urged the residents to be patient. She said the allocation of stands was disturbed by the national lockdown, and the municipality will announce when they are going to resume.
“Our people need to understand that for every matter to tackled there are required protocols and procedures.
“It is unfortunate that though we understand their challenges, there are still procedures to be followed.
“They must wait for these processes to be finalised and must comply with the set regulations,” said Ms Nkabinde.
