A meeting to discuss solutions to Alicedale residents’s problems on Wednesday 22 April was disrupted by a toyi-toying group, who said they did not want Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter anywhere near the small town.
A meeting to discuss solutions to Alicedale residents’s problems on Wednesday 22 April was disrupted by a toyi-toying group, who said they did not want Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter anywhere near the small town.
The meeting to discuss burning issues in the town, which falls under Makana Municipality, was attended by the Sarah Baartman District Municipality Chief Whip and other officials, Peter and Mayoral Committee members, municipal officials, engineers and town planners and community leaders.
South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) member Zanemvula Ntoyanto said the meeting was disrupted by toyi-toying residents, but said he was not sure who had organised the protest.
"They heard that Peter was there and they said they wanted him out of there," he said.
The meeting had to be stopped before the discussions got anywhere. Ntoyanto said the residents continued protesting outside until Public Order Police were called to the scene.
"The police threw tear gas at the protesting crowd and some people say rubber bullets were fired," he said.
Ntoyanto said from the little discussion they managed to get through before the disruption, there were positive indications that the construction of houses in Alicedale could start as early as next month.
"In the meeting we were told that procurement ends on15 May and on 18 May contractors could start the early stages of building houses," he said.
Ntoyanto said they were told that work on building 27 houses would start on 18 May.
The moves follow a meeting in Alicedale on Thursday 16 April where community members addressed their grievances to a high-level provincial and regional delegation.
Co-operative Governance MEC Fikile Xasa told the gathering that they would follow up on the concerns and would report back on 30 May.
