/ 23 August 2000

POLICE STEP IN AS COUNCIL SEIZES GOODS

POLICE have used stun grenades to disperse an angry mob in Palm Springs, near Vereeniging, after the local municipality began seizing property from rates and services payment defaulters. Angry residents claimed the Vereeniging municipality was not providing them with services. The municipality’s tough stance was prompted by arrears of about R200m and the fact that only a few residents are paying their bills. Local councillor Edgar Jonas’s home and car were damaged by the stone-throwing mob.