By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The community protests rocked Swellendam on Wednesday with a highway blockade and the torching of a firefighting vehicle and multimillion-rand Thusong community centre.
This protest comes after a month of tensions in this Western Cape town. The main issues, according to the protesters, are high electricity tariffs and the town’s indigent policy.
Several roads were blocked by bricks in the Railton area of Swellendam on Wednesday. The N2 was also closed by the police for most of the morning.
Swellendam is divided by the N2 highway. The main town on the north-west of the road is well-off, and is a popular tourist destination. On the south-east is Railton, a township but with formal housing. Alongside it is Plakenspark, an informal settlement mostly made up of shacks. The protesters have mainly been from Plakenspark.
Mayor Francios du Rand said, “I condemn these actions which have endangered lives, caused extensive property damage and disrupted essential public services.”
Du Rand said, the destruction of the service centre was a “significant setback for the entire community, especially residents of Railton”.
“At the same time, a fire truck deployed to douse the fire engulfing the Thusong Centre has also been set alight,” he wrote.
He said the municipality “has made considerable efforts to engage indigent residents of Railton who qualify for subsidised services and to assist with registering them”.
He defended the annual renewal requirement: “This was done to ensure those who could afford services, were no longer unfairly benefitting from a system that is meant for those residents who live in dire conditions and need subsidised services”.
“This change in policy by the municipality has evidently angered those who felt entitled to continue drawing free services from the municipality when they did not qualify for these subsidies. They wanted to continue benefitting at the cost of indigent residents.”
Services offered at the Thusong centre included those by the Electoral Commission, the department of home affairs, Cape Access, the South African Social Security Agency and the Community Development Worker Programme.