Fleurhof and Florida residents in Joburg joined hands and protested over poor policing, unscheduled power cuts and the removal of illegal miners while blocking roads between the two suburbs amid a strong police and Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) presence.
Community leader Lori Richards said their issues of a lack of service delivery led them to streets to protest citing raw sewage on the streets and blackouts that go on for days as some of the reasons why they are on the streets..
“If you are sick, how do you get help because we don’t even have a clinic in Fleurhof, people of Fleurhof are forced to go to Florida and there is no transport here. These are some of the reasons why we are blocking the streets and this is not even political, it’s a peaceful protest for the community,” Richards added.
Another resident Noko Mokgata said for 12 years they have been waiting for a school to be built in the area but that hasn’t happened because they have been told there is no money.
Mokgata also alleged that foreign nationals living in the hostel are selling drugs to children and also complained about illegal miners accusing them of blasting the sewage pipe which has caused a spillage on the street. “We want to see them gone”.
Another community member, who wanted to remain anonymous, said street lights and traffic lights haven’t been fixed in so many years adding that the changing of mayors hasn’t helped the situation..
“This robot (pointing at one of the traffic lights in a busy Main Reef road) hasn’t been fixed in five years, if not more but in some places they get fixed within a week you see we are not treated equally.”
Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda arrived at the protest and was taken to the hostel to see exactly what the residents were complaining about.
He urged residents to register their grievances with the Integrated Development Plan, IDP, for them to be included in the Metro’s budget.
“As much as we want to go out and protest, let us use the opportunities that are available to us to register in the budget itself so that when I stand there and deliver the State Of The City Address (SOCA) your concerns are represented in full,” he said adding that even if he’s removed as Mayor, they’ll still be addressed.
“And there would be no excuse why those specific services are not delivered whether I’m there or not even if I’m removed tomorrow but if your demands are in the IDP no one can remove your needs from that,” he said.
Gwamanda said the condition of the hostel was unhygienic and not safe for the children living there as a result the structure had to be demolished because it didn’t comply with the City’s bylaws.
“What we need to do as the City is to provide temporary accommodation for the people who stay there and we need to do it soon. I won’t comment on the allegations of crime in this area because I do not know, I’m only hearing this from the community and I cannot put myself under a situation where I separate one community from the other as long they are in the City of Joburg they become my responsibility and I also need to engage them.”
This was the second public appearance by the mayor since he was appointed almost two weeks ago. On Saturday, in Protea he was scheduled to address the media on allegations of his company scamming people but he was a no show and his party Al-Jama-ah sighted security concerns.
On Sunday Transport MMC Kenny Kunene appeared at an event in Dobsonville Stadium as acting Mayor of the City, while Gwamanda was out of town.
His first public appearance was at the launch of a cleaning program in Alexandra on Tuesday.
