Bins in Grahamstown households are overflowing and rubbish lies scattered across large parts of the city as striking municipal workers await the outcome of discussions with lawyers today.
Bins in Grahamstown households are overflowing and rubbish lies scattered across large parts of the city as striking municipal workers await the outcome of discussions with lawyers today.
Police maintained a visible presence across the road from the side walks in front of Lewis Stores and Birch's, where strikers gathered in the early morning sun.
The mood remained calm when South African Municipal Workers Union local leaders Zola Kolisi and Lindelwa Faltein called the group to gather in front of Birch’s.
Colonel Monray Nel approached Kolisi and Nel, showing them an interdict declaring the union's strike illegal.
Suggesting that strikers should be told to disperse, he advised the union to consult with their lawyers.
He warned that if the workers continued striking, his officers would be forced to arrest them.
Nel said the interdict was delivered to Samwu lawyers on 7 July.
The strike began on Thursday 3 July, the first day of the National Arts Festival. As visitor numbers spiked over the weekend, rubbish lay strewn across verges in the city's suburbs and toilet buckets in part of the town were full to overflowing.
Joza residents felt they were fighting a losing battle as strong winds filled their yards with debris.
Joza resident Siyabulela Gungxe, 43, said on Monday, “As you can see there are papers everywhere. Now we are forced to clean our yards every day because people just decided to dump their rubbish on that field.
“It’s filthy and so smelly here, and that is not good for any of us especially our children, they are prone to many illnesses during a time like this.”
In Mnandi informal settlement, residents were forced to trek to neighbouring Phumlani to relieve themselves as waste filled toilet buckets in their area.
“When the buckets are full we have no other option but to go to Phumlani and use their toilets. There is no other way,” resident Nomalanga Ngcongo told Grocott's Mail.
Phumlani has running water and flushing toilets.
"This is not right. We don’t even have water here and when nature calls, you have to respond."
Meanwhile, in Church Square, art and life briefly went up against each other around midday on Monday, when local performance group, Manyano Traditional Dancers, began setting up in front of Lewis furniture store.
The Samwu group told them to move from there, because their group's drum would drown the strikers' singing.
But the drummers got their prime spot soon after Samwu chairperson Zolisa Kolisi emerged from the city hall.
Kolisi asked the strikers to return the next day.
