Violent protests by residents of Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, on Thursday were a result of the community misunderstanding service-delivery plans, the Tshwane municipality said.
Protesters who blocked the intersection of Soutpan and Hammanskraal roads with objects including burning tyres represented a community that had misunderstood the council’s plans to move some of them to an area that is safe for infrastructural development, said William Baloyi, spokesperson for mayor Smangaliso Mkhatshwa.
Baloyi said residents of Orange Farm informal settlement in Soshanguve claimed to have settled about 10 years ago on what was then a privately owned orchard.
”The land was then acquired by the council so that they could keep living there.
”But when it was surveyed to start planning for water, electricity and road provision, it was found that part of it was below the flood line,” he said.
The council decided to move those who lived in the section below the flood line to safer, adjacent land so that infrastructure could be safely established in the area.
However, in December, when the time came to identify residents in the unsafe area who would have to move, the misunderstanding occurred, said Baloyi.
”This led to people demanding that if any of them had to move, then the whole community should move, failing which the infrastructure would have to be developed in the existing area, below the flood line or not.”
Baloyi said following the protests, Mkhatshwa met community members on Thursday. The community members said the process had not been properly explained to them.
After the meeting, the mayor and council representatives decided to meet the community once more on Friday to clear up the misunderstanding.
”Tomorrow [Friday] morning, the community will be shown presentations, maps and given talks which will explain what a flood line is and how building below it can threaten not only the quality of services, but also their lives,” said Baloyi.
The protests, which started at 3am on Thursday, led to a police officer being injured when a stone was hurled at his head by one of a group of 80 to 100 protesters, said police spokesperson Superintendent Piletji Sebola. The inspector received treatment at a local clinic.
Police dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets and stun grenades. The road has since been cleared and traffic is moving as usual, Sebola said.
There have been no arrests. — Sapa