Tyres slashed on city vehicles

Protesters from informal settlements in Khayelitsha Site C yesterday threw human faeces at DA councillors who set up a stand in Khayelitsha to speak to residents about issues affecting them. The DA councillors said they believe the protesters were from the ANCYL. Photo: Nombulelo Damba/WCN

Protesters from informal settlements in Khayelitsha Site C yesterday threw human faeces at DA councillors who set up a stand in Khayelitsha to speak to residents about issues affecting them. The DA councillors said they believe the protesters were from the ANCYL. Photo: Nombulelo Damba/WCN

Published Aug 7, 2013

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Xolani Koyana

MUNICIPAL workers repairing toilets in Khayelitsha were left stranded for a few hours when protesting residents slashed the tyres of city vehicles and threatened to set them alight.

S-Section residents slashed the tyres of the maintenance truck and a supervisor’s bakkie while workers were inspecting toilets in the informal settlement yesterday.

There were seven workers at the toilets. The residents decried the city’s Expanded Public Works Programme

(EPWP), set up to clean and maintain communal flush toilets in informal settlements.

After throwing piles of rubbish on Pama Road, the group of about 60 people collected human waste from some of the clogged toilets and dumped it on the vehicles’ seats. Rubbish was also thrown on both vehicles’ front seats.

Residents threatened to set the vehicles alight, despite a heavy police presence. Resident Phuthumile Mkiva said they were supposed to meet EPWP manager Last Nondumo yesterday to discuss their concerns. Local councillor Luvuyo Hebe was also to attend. However, Nondumo did not arrive.

When residents called Nondumo’s office they were told a meeting would be arranged for Friday.

“That is too late. We just saw that these people were playing games. We don’t mind cleaning these toilets ourselves. That’s what we did before the city introduced this programme. If they don’t work with the community these protests will continue,” said Mkiva. Another resident, Sipho-sethu Runqu, said the programme was presented as a community-based project, but there was no community involvement. He said 17 people from the community had been employed but their contracts ended in June. In July one person was employed.

The police went to Hebe, who asked the protesters to be calm and disperse. He said he would arrange a meeting with Nondumo but “there isn’t much I can do to prevent the protest”.

On Monday, a group carrying portable toilets emptied the contents at the DA’s recruitment table 1 in Site C and on a vehicle outside.

DA provincial leader Ivan Meyer said ANC Youth League convener Muhammad Khalid Sayed should give the names of those responsible to the police.

Meyer said Sayed had confirmed on national TV that a group that had dumped faeces on the steps of the provincial legislature on Monday were league members.

Pressed last night, Sayed said he had checked and the protesters were not league members.

As much as the league sympathised with communities protesting against inadequate sanitation, they did not support their methods.

“Instead of spewing propaganda about the ANC Youth League the DA should focus on addressing the sanitation crisis in the Western Cape.”

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