Cape Town - What started off as a protest by taxi drivers over the town’s potholed roads soon evolved into xenophobic violence as Grahamstown’s poor targeted foreigners for a series of “unexplained” deaths.
Four bodies in total were found recently in advanced stages of decomposition. Locals pointed fingers at foreigners and shops were looted.
At a meeting in the Joza township on Wednesday night, many residents still blamed foreigners for the deaths, despite pleas that all the deaths could be plausibly explained.
Seated in the shade of an acacia tree, driver Lonwabo Nxedi says he has yet to be convinced that foreigners, mostly shopkeepers from Pakistan, were not behind the deaths and mutilated corpses.
“The Xhosa people who were caught by the community for the killings said they were sent by foreigners to harvest body parts,” said Nxedi.
But police spokesperson Marli Govender said no one had been arrested and despite claims, the three recent bodies had not been mutilated.
Last week, the town’s taxi drivers, including Nxedi, took to the local municipality’s offices and barricaded the street to prevent councillors and mayor Nomhle Nogaga from moving their vehicles.
Their complaint: service delivery in the municipality remained non-existent despite promises from local ANC leaders that the situation would soon be remedied.
With a population of almost 90 000 residents, the Makana municipality is owed over R240 million in rates and taxes.
And a forensic audit report, which had long been kept under wraps by the municipality and only recently released, showed the extent of mismanagement in the municipality.
The Kabuso audit report pointed the finger at numerous Makana officials, including former mayor Zamuxolo Peter.
One of the issues highlighted was the municipality’s payment of R108 374 for the legal costs of former municipal manager Pravine Naidoo, even though this had not been authorised by the council.
There were also gross irregularities in the municipality’s recruitment processes.
For instance, it hired Emmanuel Madlavu, Peter’s former landlord, as director of infrastructure even though he had been flagged for being a convicted criminal.
The DA’s caucus leader in the Makana municipality, Les Reynolds, said problems had been festering for years, with no political will to fix them.
“The bottom line is the municipality is bankrupt. Over the years the credit controls have been poor,” said Reynolds.
The municipality’s tax base was too small to support the continued expansion of Grahamstown. He said the continued construction of RDP homes was placing a burden on its constrained finances.
“They don’t even have money for diesel for the municipal vehicles. Along with this, the municipality owes Eskom millions,” said Reynolds.
Last year staff and students at Rhodes University marched on the Makana municipality’s office, demanding that something be done about the poor provision of water services after those living in Grahamstown’s high-lying areas went 19 days without water.
ANC sub-regional chairperson Mabhuti Matyumza said the party acknowledged the findings of the Kabuso report and was working on fixing the Makana municipality.
He said Grahamstown had over the years attracted an influx of residents who could not find employment in either East London or Port Elizabeth.
“This is a city shouldered with all the problems of the Eastern Cape,” said Matyumza.
The removal of Peter was evidence that the ANC was serious about tackling the rot.
But while politicians were removed from their posts, the ANC leader
would not say whether the municipality would force Naidoo to repay money allegedly paid to him fraudulently.
Cape Times
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