Diepsloot protests for power

Thousands of residents blocked off traffic with burning tyres, rubble and rocks

A PROCESS to electrify Diepsloot is to commence after thousands of angry residents brought the informal settlement to a standstill in a volatile protest yesterday.

Residents claim their anger stems from being ignored by the City of Johannesburg, after they made numerous attempts to register their plight over the lack of electricity in their community.

As a result, thousands of residents gathered at various parts of the R511 (William Nicol Drive) and the N14, where they blocked off traffic with burning tyres, rubble and rocks.

The Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) said it was forced to advise motorists to use alternative routes, which included the N1 and R55 to avoid the mayhem in the area.

JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the eastern part of Diepsloot was affected by road closures that caused massive traffic congestion.

“The N14 was also affected, but officers were able to open the road. Traffic between Pretoria and Krugersdorp, and between Pretoria and Sandton, was also affected.”

Johannesburg Roads Agency region director Abigail Ndlovu said they would be meeting with community leaders from the informal settlement, along with officials from the department of housing and Eskom, today in a bid to resolve the impasse.

“We have to map out the process of resolving the issue. First we have to address the issue of de-congesting the informal settlement, then we have to concern ourselves with properly aligning the structures and verifying the numbers.” Ndlovu explained that the meetings would be held during the course of the week.

Resident Movers Khosa accused the authorities of not taking their grievances seriously. “The problem is that the government does not listen to us. We went to the speaker’s office on three occasions to deliver our memorandums and nobody has responded to them.

“This is the only language our government understands.”

Protesting residents, police and the JMPD engaged in running battles as police tried to disperse the protesters by firing rubber bullets and tear gas.

“The first memorandum was delivered to them on May 22 and the second on May 31, but they still did not respond to them… We gave them 14 days and this is the result…” Khosa emphasised that residents in the informal settlement have been living in the area without electricity since 1995 and said that they felt neglected.

Another resident, Namhla Simelane, explained that a lack of electricity was contributing to the scourge of crime.

“Women are getting raped and people are getting mugged at night, because criminals can easily hide without being seen.”

She further added that shack fires were also rife, especially in winter, because people use paraffin stoves to keep warm.

“Yesterday, there was a man who died in Diepsloot, after his shack caught fire.

“We couldn’t help him because we don’t even have water to put out the fire.”