Building torched over 'broken promises'

10/05/2016. Police officers patroling one of the streets which was barricaded by angry community members during a service delivery protest at Spoorview in Ga-Rankuwa. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

10/05/2016. Police officers patroling one of the streets which was barricaded by angry community members during a service delivery protest at Spoorview in Ga-Rankuwa. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

Published May 11, 2016

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Pretoria - Residents of Spoorview in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, intensified their protest on Tuesday, torching a community hall in the area.

The protest, which started at about 4am, saw angry protesters barricading the streets with rubble, bricks and burning tyres.

The protesters torched a security control room and a stage ramp inside the community hall.

Absalom Dimati, community chairman, said all of this would not have happened had the councillor delivered on the promises he had made.

Dimati said they had a feedback meeting with the councillor on Monday, which did not go as anticipated.

“The councillor is not taking us seriously, therefore we will continue striving for our demands,” said Dimati.

The residents said their patience was wearing thin following a series of broken promises.

They said they had lived in the township for more than 22 years without tarred roads but had been living in decent houses. They also demanded that the city accounts for the taxes they had paid.

Two weeks ago the residents blocked roads in a similar fashion after claiming that they had been told that their area had been rezoned recently and there were no funds to build roads for them.

Community representatives said they had sent their letter of demands to the municipality and were hoping to get a response within three days of the initial protest action.

Among their demands is proper drainage systems and maintenance of street lights.

Jerry Shogole, a resident, said that instead of building tarred roads, the councillor embarked on building pavements. He said that when they first raised the issue, they were told they had been in a buffer zone all along, and the council would start building roads now they had been rezoned.

Shogole, who spoke on behalf of the protesting residents, said they would not be taking part in the local government elections if their situation did not change.

Dimati said they no longer desired to engage with the councillor. A letter had been sent to the mayor.

Pretoria News

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