Amahlathi mayor chased out of office

KEISKAMMAHOEK officials, including the mayor, were forced out of their offices by a mob yesterday following Monday’s shooting of a service delivery protester during police action against the protesters.

A crowd of about 600 angry townsfolk yesterday chased Amahlathi municipal mayor Pakati Qaba and officials from the municipal building.

When the Dispatch arrived at the scene in the afternoon, Qaba and four councillors were sitting in a doublecab bakkie a few metres from 20 policemen armed with semi-automatic rifles.

People shouted at Qaba: “leave this office”, and “you better fix this town”, and at police “we are not scared of you”.

Qaba wound down the window and told Dispatch: “This is a surprise because we did not ignore the community. There are structures within our council which deal with the concerns of the communities.”

She appeared nervous.

Qaba said the municipality was working on plans to upgrade the roads in the area.

“We are working with our IDP [Integrated Development Plan] document. We take some projects which are in the IDP according to the budget which is available in our institution and we work with that.

“There are services that are happening in our community and planned projects of road construction for 2018 and 2019 in our area.”

Speaking through the partly open window, she said the municipal buildings and equipment had been damaged. “At this moment we didn’t go and see and see the damage in the satellite office. The community members did not want us to go through to that site but they damaged offices and equipment.”

Border Alliance Taxi Association chairman Peter Mgunculu said residents wanted the mayor out of office. “The mayor must be chased away because we have given numerous grievances to her but she has not followed to any of that.

“People want to talk to the premier [Phumulo Masualle] or ANC chairman Oscar Mabuyane so that our issues can be addressed.”

Provincial Cogta MEC Fikile Xasa was allowed into the municipal buildings yesterday but protesters would not speak to him. They wanted to talk to Masualle and Mabuyane.

Xasa, who was seen making calls, said both leaders had been informed of the situation.

“They are coming. These are issues that we should have attended to except that we need to improve on coordinating our effort to fix this.

“It should not have come to this point and it is regrettable.”