Fiery service delivery protests called off in search for resolution

GOVERNMENT has asked angry Breidbach and Zwelitsha residents for more time to try and fix service delivery failures.

This follows last week’s four-day service delivery protests which erupted on Monday in Breidbach outside King William’s Town and saw the N2 blockaded with tyres being burned.

The protests were called off pending Monday’s meeting with government leaders, and it seems protests are off until further notice.

Last Thursday, Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) acting mayor Helen Neale-May asked the two communities to hold off until Monday’s meeting.

On Monday, department of human settlements MEC Helen SaulsAugust addressed the community members, asking for more time to sit down with all the stakeholders to iron out the issues of the community and give comprehensive feedback.

Yesterday, there was some confusion over when the next governmentmeeting would be held.

Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, the department’s spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said there was no set date in mind when the stakeholders were to meet with the community.

Breidbach home seekers committee member Lewis Brecht said they were expecting a further meeting today.

Sicwetsha said: “There was no resolution reached at yesterday’s (Monday) meeting with the community of Breidbach because there are a number of stakeholders involved, like BCM and public works. A meeting with each roleplayer needs to be held to iron out all the issues first and then take the outcome back to community. At this stage, I can't commit to a date for when that will happen,” Sicwetsha said.

Residents of Breidbach demanded service delivery and houses, while Zwelitsha residents protested over sanitation problems.

Brecht said the community was not included in the 2017-18 financial year for new houses.

“The community is disturbed by this because we are being overlooked after all these years,” Brecht said.

He added that the various officials asked for an additional two days to come up with a way forward, which the community agreed to.

Things were back to normal this week in Breidbach as the community agreed to devise a plan after they have received “better answe for their demands.

On Sunday the community met again and appointed a new delegation, with six new committee members guiding the home seekers committee.

Assistant secretary of the Breidbach home seekers committee, Michelle Quilie said they agreed that the protests would be stopped.

“We were told by the MEC Helen Sauls-August that we should hold off on the protests until they have come back to us and we appreciated her honesty when she told us that we were not included in the financial budget. She said the lengthy process takes between 18 to 24 months to be initiated first and we also don’t want to continue because our children are writing exams.”

Quilie added that the community is planning a peaceful march to Calata House to further highlight their plight.

This demonstration would also be in aid of the eviction of their ward councillor, Sixolisiwe Ntsasela, but she could not divulge a date yet.

Sicwetsha said no meeting will take place in Breidbach today.—