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Joburg, Tshwane, Cape Town: a week of protest action

Members of the Red Ants monitor would-be land invaders in Lwandle near Strand, on April 11 2019.
Members of the Red Ants monitor would-be land invaders in Lwandle near Strand, on April 11 2019.
Image: Aron Hyman

Since protests erupted in Joburg's Alexandra township last week, service delivery protests have spread to other townships across the country. 

From Alexandra residents threatening to shut down Sandton, chaos in Tshwane and Soweto and protests in the Western Cape, here's a wrap of this week's protest action.

Johannesburg 


Alexandra residents on Monday continued their service delivery protest,  marching to the Sandton CBD.

Gauteng premier David Makhura visited Alex on Tuesday and President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the township on Thursday. 

The grievances of Alex residents include  poor waste management, substance abuse in the community, escalating crime and poor housing. 

On Friday residents in Pennyville, Soweto, barricaded roads in a service delivery protest from the early hours of the morning. 

SowetanLIVE reported that the residents said the government had not delivered on its service promises. 

Residents in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg, also took to the streets in protest on Friday morning. According to Jacaranda FM, residents were protesting over electricity.

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department also said a service delivery protest had broken out in Orange Grove on Thursday morning.

Tshwane 

On Thursday morning, residents in areas such as Mobopane, Soshanguve and Hammanskraal blocked major roads as they shut down Tshwane.

Tshwane residents were reportedly protesting over municipal bills and impounded taxis. 

Cape Town 

Residents of Khayelitsha in Cape Town also protested on Thursday, reportedly over water bills. 

The protest was organised by the "water crisis and high water bills" group. Reports were that the MEC for community safety in the Western Cape, Alan Winde, had said the protests were politically motivated and called for the arrests of the ringleaders. 

The protest led to the closure of the N2 between Somerset West and Sir Lowry's Pass. Twenty-one schools have been closed due to concerns over safety.

TimesLIVE reported that 20 protesters were arrested in Lwandle following an alleged land invasion where protesters clashed with the Red Ants. 


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