MORE than a week after rioting to protest high taxes, residents of Johannesburg’s coloured areas remain defiant of the government, saying that an old oppressor has merely been replaced with a new one.
The rates row which sparked the rioting – in which police have confirmed two people died – is only one of many reasons for their anger, residents said, adding that police response to the protest only aggravated the situation.
“Police fired wildly and just shot anyone they saw,” said Celia Dan, whose 11-year- old son David was shot in the leg during the fighting. “What did an 11-year-old boy do?”
“[Civics leader] Basil Douglas is the only person that is willing to fight for the coloured community. He should be awarded a medal,” said Eldorado Park resident Sonja Olifant. “Douglas,” said a pensioner, “is the only one standing up for coloureds.”
Douglas tapped into a popular vein when he called last week’s stayaway to protest rising electricity and water tariffs.
“This is an act of revenge by Mandela because the coloured community did not support the ANC during the elections,” said Olifant. She faces electricity and water arrears of more than R9000, but said she cannot afford to pay because she is unemployed. “We suffered under the old regime and we are still suffering today.”
Many residents blamed the Gauteng government for neglecting the coloured community. “This is ridiculous. Does the council think we are rich? We won’t pay these high rates,” said one woman, who refused to be identified.
Eldorado Park resident Colette du Pont said Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale had failed to respond to calls from residents to deal with the issue.
“If this had happened in a black township he would be visiting the people. But he doesn’t care about us,” she said.
Residents have accused municipal councils of failing to keep their promises to scrap arrears accumulated prior to the April 1994 election. “No arrears were scrapped in Eldorado Park, only in Soweto,” said Du Pont.
Prema Naidoo, chair of the Southern Metropolitan Substructure, dismissed the claims. He said some residents had not paid their accounts for two years and this explained why they owed as much as R15000. Naidoo said the residents’ calls to scrap arrears that accumulated after the 1994 election were unrealistic.