Issues
of housing have come to the fore again in Alexandra where more than ten houses
were destroyed in a fire over the Easter weekend.
Issues
of overcrowding were at the heart of recent protests in the Johannesburg
township, where residents complain that 25 years into democracy, thousands of
families still live in poor conditions.
The
weekend blaze engulfed houses on 14th Avenue, and residents speculate
that an electrical fault caused the fire.
Thoko Mbukazi, who lost her home
in the fire, said, “the electricity went off and it came back around 11:00 pm
and that’s when the fire started.”
Residents
say they have lost all their belongings including ID documents and clothing and
are pleading to the community for assistance.
The
African National Congress (ANC) in Alex used the opportunity to campaign by
coming to the community’s aid with food parcels and blankets.
ANC’s
ward 76 Councilor Mosses Pandeka said, “the City of Joburg is run by the DA but
it is still our responsibility to assist the community because they are the
voters.”
An
investigation into the fire has since be launched. – Alex FM (edited by Siya
Motha)
Alex residents Thoko Mbukazi and Zodwa Ngwenyama Mamabolo describe their losses in the devastating Easter weekend fire
The African People’s Convention (APC) in Alexandra has accused the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African National Congress (ANC) of removing APC campaign material in the community.
The APC’s Thabo Mopase said he had received a tip-off
from a community member that children dressed in black T-shirts with ANC
regalia were removing his party’s posters. “We realized that this problem was
not done by ordinary children, they might have been youth who are well
coordinated to do this,” Mopase said.
Mopase, who left the ANC’s Alexandra branch in December 2018 to join the APC, has since requested the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to investigate, as he believes the incident represents a violation of their freedom of expression and the rules of open, free and fair democratic elections.
According to the IEC’s Electoral Code of
Conduct it is prohibited to destroy, remove or deface posters of other political
parties.
The ANC secretary in Alexandra, Banele Sangcozi, has refuted Mopase’s claims stating
that the party advocates for political tolerance. Sangcozi has called Mopase to provide
evidence of ANC members’ involvement, and says he will deal with any members
found to have been involved.
Meanwhile the chairman of the ANC in
Alexandra, Thulani Ndlovu, has launched a formal investigation into Mopase’s claims.
– Alex FM (edited by Veronical Makhoali)
The APC’s Thabo Mopase accuses other parties of taking down postersThe ANC’s Banele Sangcozi says his party is tolerant of others
Taxi operations came to a halt in Alexandra
as taxi operators and commuters gathered in large numbers at Alex
Sankapano Stadium for a meeting by the taxi industry party, the Alliance
Transformation For All (ATA).
This forms part of ATA’s campaign as political parties rally to convince South
Africa to cast their vote come May 8.
ATA Provincial Secretary, Emily
Thubela says the purpose of the gathering on April 17 was to raise awareness
about ATA’s objective and mission for the taxi industry. Thubela pleaded with the audience to vote for
ATA so that it has a voice in parliament to raise concerns regarding the
transport industry subsidies. “BRT buses and Gautrain are given subsidies by
government whilst the taxi industry does not receive any. We want subsidies so
that we can reduce taxi fares for our commuters,” she added.
ATA’s Jabulani Ntshangase reverberated
Thubela’s concerns, saying that the party is not only for the taxi industry but
for all involved, including metered taxi operators and hawkers.
Ntshangase promised voters that the party
will transform the industry “we will make sure that security guards are on the
road 24/7 to protect our mothers. We will ensure all taxi ranks have security guards
that belong to our party,” he said.
Ntshangase says they will be expanding
their election campaign to other provinces in the country. – Alex FM
(edited by Veronica Makhoali)
The #AlexShutdown protest saw residents march into Sandton to hand over a memorandum of demands on April 8, as parties continued to point fingers at each other.
However the memorandum was not received by
the municipal director or the executive Mayor Herman Mashaba as residents
requested.
Speaking to Local Voices, Alex FM reporter Malesela Mangena said the protest has been postponed until Thursday, 11th April. He reported that organisers fear the protest may become chaotic and found it best to suspend the march as residents have become inpatient with the municipal office.
In response to the #AlexShutdown, Gauteng
Premier David Makhura announced on
Twitter that President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the community of Alexandra
on Thursday at Alex Stadium.
Responding to the Democratic Alliance’s
claim that the African National Congress is inciting violence in Alex, he said
the opposition is “blame-shifting” and not delivering to the community.
The ruling party’s Tumelo Ramoshala said “the ANC is sharing the same sentiment as the community of Alexandra and raising out their own grievances over the dissatisfaction of service delivery.”
He adde it was unfortunate that Solly
Msimanga, DA candidate for Gauteng Premier, was trying to shift attention from
the issue of service delivery to its political opponents.
Alex FM reporter Malesela Mangena describes events in Alexandra
As protests in Alexandra continued for the third day on Friday, residents expressed frustration at the failure of DA mayor Herman Mashaba to come and meet them and vowed to close down neighbouring Sandton on Monday.
The protests began in the early hours of
Wednesday, April 3, when residents gathered in large numbers to protest against
poor service delivery, illegal structures and lack of development in their
community.
Roads were barricaded with tyres and
rubble. It was reported that police dispersed protester with rubber bullets and
teargas.
On Friday, Mashaba announced he would
attend a meeting with the community on Monday at 10am. But residents gathered
for a meeting expressed their dissatisfaction, and vowed to close down Sandton
on Monday. Shirley Mathakga, reporter at
Alex FM attended the meeting and said residents were unhappy that the mayor was
communicating with them via mainstream and social media rather than addressing
them directly.
