New Rest tensions boiling over

Protesters add to list of housing demands

LAST week Friday saw another march by the residents of New Rest and surrounding areas, regarding the lack of action by the municipality to provide them with houses and land, and they say they will not accept empty promises from the Ndlambe municipality any longer.

After several weeks of flash protests on the R67 at the 43 Air School turnoff and Titi Jonas Multi-Purpose Community Centre, residents recently submitted a list of demands to the Ndlambe Municipality.

But municipal spokesman Cecil Mbolekwa said the disagreement was no longer just about housing.

“The residents say they were told they would have houses by 2015. Now they are demanding to speak directly with the MEC for human settlements as well as the provincial premier who, they say, must come to New Rest and address them. They are also saying that they need to be relocated to Thornhill,” Mbolekwa said.

Residents marched from their homes to join a throng of around 50 people who made their way to the municipal building in Campbell Street brandishing banners with slogans such as, “Leaders, stop your greed”, “Not yet Uhuru [free]” and “Can’t wait until 2019”.

At ground level the protesters are angry at the slow pace of progress towards their claims for houses, and many believed they should be relocated to the Thornhill development when the first phase was completed. They say they have been forced to wait while others have taken possession of the homes they believed should have been allocated to them.

Conditions at New Rest and the surrounding areas are often dire, with few if any municipal services, and a piggery generating a considerable stench.

Last Friday, unlike at previous protests, those participating in the march did so without resorting to blocking the road with burning debris, and no stones were thrown. The only problem for motorists was in safely passing the protesters on the R67 and on Bathurst Street leading to Wharf Street, but police were out in force to direct traffic and ensure the march remained peaceful.

Picture: ROB KNOWLES WE WANT HOUSES NOW: That’s the message from New Rest protesters, who claim they have been waiting for the last 17 years to be allocated houses or land on which to build them. Residents again took to the streets on the R67 last Friday to voice their...