Protesters anger residents

KOSOVO informal settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, has been turned into a dumping zone following this week's jobs protest.

Sowetan reported yesterday that residents had littered the streets after a protest over alleged unfair job allocations by the City of Cape Town.

Now fellow residents living near the trashed area are complaining about the mess.

One of the residents, Nomsa Botomani, said: "I know nothing about the toyi-toyi over jobs. I work at a vegetable farm."

She said she was concerned about the health of her children. "I have five children, and the youngest is 18 months. They play here everyday," said the angry mother.

Botomani said the protesters insulted her when she tried to stop them from trashing the area. "They dumped excrement and carcasses of cats and dogs here, which left an unbearable stench."

Another resident, Zimkhitha Rana, said: "We did nothing. Why do they punish us?"

Rana said her 11-month-old baby now had diarrhoea.

The two women said they did not have a problem with protests as long as garbage was not thrown outside their houses.

A father of two, Lizwe Luvalo, was also annoyed. "They started by burning toilets. Now they are discarding rubbish all over the place. What about our health?"

Community leader Lonwabo Jaku was adamant that residents would not stop protesting until the city met their demands.