fla
PROTEST-FSTATE
BLOEMFONTEIN March 14 Sapa
FSTATE PROTEST SEES 62 ARRESTS
Police arrested 62 people when a protest at Theunissen in the Free State turned violent, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
Sergeant Ian Gaobepe said a service delivery protest apparently got out of hand on Tuesday.
Residents started breaking the windows of an old clinic and a community hall in the township.
The group moved to the town centre and threw stones at the municipal building and the offices of the African National Congress.
Gaobepe said the situation was under control and quiet on Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Alliance urged Free State premier Ace Magashule to step in and sort out the water supply problems in the municipality.
The municipality governs the towns of Theunissen, Winburg, Brandfort and Soutpan.
"The management of this municipality find it seemingly impossible to deliver the most basic and necessary of all commodities, water," said Free State DA local government spokesman Peter Frewen.
He said it was no surprise that the residents of Masilonyana had invaded and disrupted a meeting by the district municipality at Theunissen.
Residents went on a rampage through the town afterwards and the damage to property was immense.
Frewen said the water supply in Winburg was always at critical levels.
"There is insufficient pumping capacity to get reservoirs up to full capacity."
In Theunissen, the water supply was mostly erratic.
Frewen said the municipality was unable to get the town’s system functioning at any effective level, with officials staggering from one water crisis to the next.
In Brandfort, the situation was a tragedy, he said.
One clinic was without water and people were being turned away.
Frewen said the water situation in Masilonyana needed urgent attention before similar riots spread to other towns.
Sapa
/ag/hdw/clh/ma 03/14/12 19-12