Charles Molele
Angry residents of Alexandra Township on Monday evening prevented Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba from addressing them about the ongoing service delivery issues in the area.
Protests began last week, led by the #shutdown committee.
The meeting was characterized by chaos from the start, with some residents throwing missiles on the stage and singing angry disparaging songs against Mashaba and the Democratic Alliance.
“We came here and realised that there were people who wanted to disrupt this meeting. I don’t want to play politics when it comes to the matters of governance,” said Mashaba.
Mashaba also slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the township last week including his promise to build one million houses.
“If he wanted to act fast, he should’ve done so in Marikana,” said Mashaba.
Mashaba said the ANC has lied to the poor residents of Alexandra for far too long.
He also accused the ruling party of stealing billions rands earmarked for the area’s development through the Alexandra Development Project.
Former President Thabo Mbeki launched the Alexandra Renewal Project in 2001 with funding from the national, provincial and local governments.
Based on a seven-year plan to upgrade the infrastructure and address the unemployment and housing crises in Alexandra, the ARP inspired widespread hope and tremendous expectations.
The ARP’s goals included among others – substantially reducing the levels of unemployment; creating a healthy and clean living environment; providing engineering services at an affordable and sustainable level; reducing levels of crime and upgrading existing housing environments and creating additional affordable housing opportunities.
The ANC has been criticised by political observers for orchestrating the protests ahead of the election on 8 May.
