Three people were injured when police threw stun grenades and fired rubber bullets at protesting Power Town informal settlement residents in the southern Cape on Monday.
Spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones said the three were injured when police were trying to disperse protesters who blocked the N2 between George and Mossel Bay.
Mossel Bay municipality spokesperson Harry Hill said the residents were protesting poor service delivery in the area. They blocked the highway and demanded to speak to the mayor, Michael Carelse.
”The mayor has met with them and accepted the petition. He will give them feedback later this afternoon. The situation is calm and one lane has been opened to traffic.”
Hill said the municipality is struggling to reach an agreement with the residents who do not want to be relocated.
”They are living in a high flood-risk area. We have tried for several years to negotiate with them, but they are not keen on moving,” he said.
In Port Elizabeth, more than 80 people protested poor service delivery in the Nelson Mandela metropole on Monday morning. They blocked Sipondo and Uitenhage roads near Dorah Ngiza hospital.
Captain Ernest Sigobe said the situation was stable but people were still protesting on the sides of the roads.
Last week Wednesday, a police inspector was injured and eight people were arrested during a protest against poor service delivery at Soshanguve north of Pretoria. — Sapa