Issue 180 - FREE
15 JUNE 2018
Community News. Original - accurate - first
017 631 1903 / 017 631 1845 • admin@thebulletin.co.za • 1 Kiewiet Street, Secunda (Lake Umuzi)
eMbalenhle protest against poor service delivery Resentment of Govan Mbeki Municipality’s (GMM) service delivery programme is growing by the day. The Bulletin reported on the 11th of May about the 9 ANC councillors that were unhappy with the level of services rendered by GMM. The next edition saw the campaign by Afghanistan (Kinross) residents to oust Rose Nkabinde because of the lack of services in the township. In the 1 June edition, there were reports of water pushing up into houses in Lebohang. Sewer spillages are a daily occurrence in the whole GMM area. The 18 May edition also reported on protestors
arriving at GMM with buckets of sewage. They wanted to dump this in the municipal offices. Protest actions have grown in frequency and intensity. Very early on Monday morning, an alleged protestor was killed when he and a few friends allegedly tried to torch a truck. The truck didn’t stop and drove over one of the alleged protestors, killing him instantly. Monday’s protest was peaceful up to the time of writing this article. A lot of the burning at intersections was done by small school children. When the Bulletin arrived in
eMbalenhle, it was evident that the young children saw the burning of tyres as a game of cat and mouse with the police. The organisers of the protest were adamant that the protest remain peaceful. Some church leaders also joined in the protest. There seemed to be some confusion from the police as to what the next step in the protestors arsenal was. The law enforcement agencies believed that the march would continue towards Secunda. Police and traffic officers were at their posts all the way to Secunda. Cllr Douglas Mahlangu said that the
protest was regarding service delivery in the townships. “As we speak, there is no electricity in eMbalenhle,” said Douglas. “Even yesterday there was no electricity” They complained about sewage in the houses, water shortages and other service delivery issues. Pastor Mgwebane said that they, as pastors, were there to ensure that the protest stayed peaceful and no blood would be shed. They believed that God would protect them. Mahlangu vowed to continue the fight until their service delivery issues were addressed.