Kenton-on-Sea service delivery protest turns ugly
A KENTON-ON-SEA service delivery protest turned ugly yesterday when police fired stun grenades, smoke cannisters and bird shot at more than 350 Ekuphumleni residents after they blocked the busy R72 with burning tyres and refused to move.
The road was closed to traffic for hours as public order police from East London fought sporadic battles with stone-throwing residents who returned to the busy intersection three times despite being shot at and dispersing back into the township.
Vehicles were pelted after the first early morning skirmish when police allowed traffic to pass the burning barricades at the Ekuphumleni-Kenton-on-Sea crossroads.
Organisers Tuli Memani and Steven Mzamo Marwaniqane later handed a long list of grievances to Human Settlements regional head William Perks after he was ordered to Kenton from Port Elizabeth by MEC Helen Sauls-August when protesters earlier refused to give it to Ndlambe municipal manager Rolly Dumezweni.
Memani warned Perks that the deparment must urgently address their grievances or face increased roadside protests.
The list of grievances handed to Perks called for more land to be set aside for housing, cattle grazing and business development, improved sewer infrastructure, tarred roads, and the development of a sports ground and youth skill centre.
They also claimed there was no local economic development and that tender fraud was rife in the area.
According to Memani, development was taking place in townships around Port Alfred, Alexandria, Bathurst, nearby Bushmans River and other small towns in Ndlambe but it was not happening in Ekuphumleni. She said people felt they were being ignored because they had voted for independent councillor Zache Nxingo and not the ANC.
Municipal spokesman Khulukile Mbolekwa denied the allegations, saying a major housing project would start soon. He, however, said housing was a provincial issue.
Although he confirmed money earmarked for Ekuphumleni had been transferred to nearby Marselle, he said this was done so they could finish projects there before moving on to Kenton-on-Sea.
“We are not ignoring them, we also don’t want to do piecemeal things in each area. We want to finish elsewhere before we move to Kenton-on- Sea. Their time is coming.”
Although some protesters burnt ANC T-shirts with President Jacob Zuma’s face on them, organisers urged the crowd not to take sides politically.
Accepting the list of grievances, Perks said he had been ordered by MEC Sauls-August to come and deal with the problem. He vowed to speed up plans to build 564 houses in the township.
“Hopefully, I will come back on Friday with better news.”
The crowd then dispersed peacefully.