Many other towns in the Free State province are being targeted for renaming in line with government policy of changing names of towns and streets that date from white rule.
A proposal to change the name of Harrismith in the Eastern Free State to Intabazwe is somehow a poignant reminder of history’s hard lessons.
The proposal is seen by some as an attempt by the ruling party to deflect valid criticism of its poor record of governance in the municipality.
The ANC launched an attempted name change for Harrismith in 2005 which was rejected outright the residents after thousands signed a petition to keep the original name.
The new focus on a black name for Harrismith is said to divert attention away from collapsed service delivery. The Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality allegedly owes Eskom R600 million.
The public participation meeting scheduled for 09 December 2014 is to be held in the black township Intabazwe and not in the town which is the subject of the name change, as required within the legislation.
A notice was placed in ‘Die Volksblad’ on 04 December 2014 indicating the intention to change the name, but the notice only allowed for a four day window period where residents could lodge objections which is illegal.
According to the provisions of South African Geographical Names Council Act (No 118 of 1998) and the relevant regulations governing name changes at least 14 days’ notice must be given.
Lieutenant General Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith, 1st Baronet of Aliwal GCB (28 June 1787 – 12 October 1860), known as Sir Harry Smith, was a notable English soldier and military commander in the British Army of the early 19th century.
In 1828 Smith was ordered to the Cape of Good Hope, where he commanded a force in the Sixth Xhosa War of 1834-36.
After he had restored confidence among the whites by his energetic measures, he was appointed governor of the Province of Queen Adelaide, and “vigorously” set about “civilizing” the black tribes, according to Wikipedia.But the ministry in London reversed his policy and, to quote Smith’s own words, “directed the Province of Queen Adelaide to be restored to barbarism”.
Smith himself was removed from his command, his departure being a final blow to the Boers.
Many Boers, largely in consequence of this policy of Lord Glenelg, began the migration to the interior known as the Great Trek.
The violent protests that started in Bloemhof and spread to Christiana has claimed its first casualty: a Grade 9 pupil who was shot and killed when protesters in Christiana marched to the municipal offices on Wednesday.
The angry residents said that the 17-year-old boy had been shot and killed by a white tavern owner who allegedly shot at them when they were marching to the Lekwa-Teemane Municipality.
“We were marching from Geluksoord then we went over the N12 and then onto the road leading to town and as we were about to enter the town, the white man and his friends came out of the tavern wielding their guns and approached us,” the residents said.
They said that as the white men approached them, “we got frightened and started turning back”.
“As we ran, one of the men shot at us like he was shooting animals at a game farm. We ran until we crossed over the N12 onto the side of the township. This is why we started to barricade the highway with rocks,” the protesters added.
They said that shortly after they barricaded the highway, the police arrived “and they started shooting at us too”.
The residents vowed to avenge the death of the 17-year-old.
“We are going to pay revenge for the killing of one of our own,” they said.
“That white man must be arrested or else we will set that tavern of his alight or kill him,” they said.
They said that the killing of the pupil was going to divide the town along racial lines.
“Racial tensions in this town are serious already and this latest incident is like pouring petrol onto the fire,” the protesters added.
Efforts to speak to the man who allegedly killed the boy were futile as he was arrested by the police.
The man’s wife, said that it was not true that her husband had killed the boy.
“My husband was given an advice by the local chief of traffic, who told him to shoot in the air if the protesters came into town. So he did exactly that. He did not shoot at the people. He only shot in the air. The person who died could have been trampled on during a stampede that occurred when the marchers were running away,” she said.
She added that “for almost an hour my husband held those people off from accessing the town”.
“What would have happened had he not done so? Police arrived a bit late. Some of those marchers wanted to come to the tavern to harass the people who are working here because some of them are foreign nationals,” she added.
Police officers on the scene refused to speak to the DFA on the killing of the boy.
The spokesman for the North West police, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane, confirmed that one person was shot and killed in Christiana during the protest.
“The police found the man already dead and it is believed that he was shot dead during the time when people went into the town and started looting shops belonging to foreign shop owners,” Ngubane added.
He said that although no one had been arrested in connection with the killing, “the police have taken some people in for questioning”.
The teenager’s mother, Tshidi Mokonono, said that although she had not yet identified her son’s body she was certain that it was him.
“The people that were with him at the protest confirmed this to me. It pains me a lot to lose a child like this,” the emotional woman said.
Battling to hold back tears, Mokonono said that it was “sad that I will never see his dream of wanting to be a teacher come true”.
“I would like to see the man who did this to my child arrested and sentenced to jail for a long time,” she added.
On Thursday, North West premier Thandi Modise appealed for calm following the shooting.
“We are saddened that the life of a person so young was cut short under such unfortunate circumstances and wish to convey our condolences to the family that lost their loved one,” she said.
“Everything has to be done to normalise the situation, prevent destruction of private and private properties and loss of lives.”
The protesting residents said they were marching to the offices of their municipality to show solidarity with their peers who were protesting in Bloemhof.
“Christiana is part of the same Lekwa-Teemane Municipality. So we were marching to the municipal offices to demand that the mayor and the councillors be removed from their positions.”
Late on Wednesday, the house belonging to a councillor, Tebogo Mokgosi, in the adjacent Utlwanang township was reported to have been burned down.
Modise was expected to lead a provincial executive council (Exco) intervention task team to talk to protesters in Boitumelong in Bloemhof on Thursday at 3pm.
She was also expected to meet with residents of Bodibe in Itsoseng near Lichtenburg on Friday.
A white farmer who allegedly had a water valve closed was to blame for problems with the water supply in Swartruggens and the Borolelo township on Sunday, said North West Premier Thandi Modise.
“It is alleged that the farmer, accompanied by a police officer, instructed the operator on site not to pump water to allow water to reach his animals downstream.”
Modise made these outlandish race-baiting claims while still awaiting a report on the incident.
According to maintenance staff however, the municipality never had the waterpumps serviced which led to the breakdown.
“We appeal to our communities not to be provoked to anger by this supposed act of sabotage and racism that need to be thoroughly investigated.”
The water shortage in Mothotlung, near Brits, sparked protests which turned deadly this week.
Two protesters were shot dead, allegedly by police, on Monday during a service-delivery protest.
Another man died after he allegedly fell out of a moving Nyala police vehicle in a bid to escape. His family says he was pushed from the moving vehicle after he was badly beaten.
Residents of Mothotlung had apparently been without water for about two weeks. The premier promised service delivery earlier but never delivered.
Meanwhile, Agang SA reported on Sunday that the Jericho community in the Madibeng municipality had been without water since last year. Madibeng is 40km from Mothotlung.
An Indian vice chancellor says the black municipality’s failure to deliver a basic service has brought his institution to brink of closure.
Open letter from Dr Saleem Badat, vice-chancellor of Rhodes University to the mayor, the municipal manager and the Makana Municipality councillors, August 14 2013:
Rhodes University views itself as an integral part of the Makana region and the Eastern Cape. We are willing to shoulder responsibility in the search for collective solutions to problems that confront our community.
It is with great dismay that we are compelled to write this Open Letter, and draw attention to the utter failure of our municipality to deal effectively and efficiently with the crisis in water provision at our university and parts of town.
Since 6 August 2013 and for the past nine days, parts of Rhodes University, including 11 residences that house over 1000 students and wardens, have been without water. As this open letter was being written yesterday afternoon, 35 additional residences and various other parts of the university were also without water.
This is not the first time this year that we, the Rhodes University community, have been without water. Earlier this year, in March, we were without water for an extended period. Indeed, we came close to shutting down the university for health and safety reasons.
Now, once again, we are faced with the crisis of hundreds of our students and staff without drinking water, which the university has to supply. There is no water for personal ablutions, for cleansing, for flushing toilets. Conditions in the residence toilets are dire, with growing health concerns.
We are again on the brink of having to close the University. Despite the valiant efforts of our staff and the great fortitude of our students we cannot cope any longer. Can you at all imagine the chaos that will occur if the university has to close its doors? Or the economic impact that this will have on the town, which is highly reliant for its economic well-being on the university operating?
Section 27 of our Constitution states that Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water. Our constitutional right to sufficient water has been and is being violated. It is thus necessary for us to act as concerned citizens in defence of our right to sufficient water.
We are compelled to peacefully mobilise ourselves as a university and community because we are angry, very angry: at the indignity that we must suffer being without water; at the seeming lack of care of the Municipality; and at the lack of communication from the Municipality.
We are aware that we are not the only people who are angry – other residents in Makana who face water outages and suffer the same indignity are also angry. Many of them have not had water for many months!
We feel we are being treated like second-class citizens, which is not acceptable in our hard fought for and won democracy. So we are now mobilising in defence of our constitutional rights as citizens.
We, the residents, households and institutions of Makana, have a right to water. We dutifully pay municipal rates in the expectation that all citizens shall have access to safe and clean water. Rhodes itself pays over R2.5 million a month in rates and service charges. We expect the Municipality and its elected councillors to honour this right as servants of the community.
We can no longer remain silent in the face of these violations of our rights, to stand mute any longer as the crisis deepens, nine days into the water outage and with new parts of Rhodes now without water.
We must now act. In marching today to your offices, we seek to indicate that we have borne the numerous water supply outages and problems with great patience and resolve. We also wish to make visible our frustration and anger.
Above all, we wish to submit our demand for a responsive Municipality that takes seriously the provision of basic services to all residents. We demand that the Municipality give us a clear plan and a timetable for resolving the crisis of water provision.
As is well known to you, Rhodes University has many years sought to work with the Municipality. Indeed, we are in regular contact. We have constantly pledged our knowledge, expertise and skills so as to safeguard basic services and promote local economic and social development.
We, as a university, again pledge any support that may be required by the Municipality and that the university can reasonably offer with the express aim of resolving the crisis. This is our social responsibility, as a knowledge institution and the largest institution and employer in the town.
But, like today, when necessary we will also not hesitate to march, to demonstrate, to demand answers, demand better performance, and demand that you be responsive and accountable to residents. This is in defence of the rights enshrined in our Constitution to which we are all bound as a nation.
It is time for you, our municipal leaders, to demonstrate leadership and accountability to us, your constituents, and to give your full attention to the problems of basic services that are crippling our town and compromising the promise of a better life for all.
Rhodes University also calls for intervention at the highest level of government. We request an urgent investigation at the provincial and national government levels into water supply and water quality in Makana. We call upon the ministers of Higher Education and Training, Public Works, Water Affairs and Provincial and Local Government and the Eastern Cape MEC for Local Government to ensure that water security in Makana is secured for current and future generations.
Dr Saleem Badat
Copied to:
The Minister of Higher Education & Training
The Director General of the Department of Higher Education & Training
KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements MEC Ravi Pillay says he is confident that there will be no further service delivery protests and disruptions in KwaDukuza on the north coast.
Earlier this week residents barricaded the R102 with rocks and burning tyres and disrupted schooling.
One of the issues the residents raised was that of a lack of housing delivery. Pillay yesterday held a meeting with the community.
He says residents wanted reassurance that the housing project was on track. Pillay says, “The project is on track in the planning stages and I gave them a detailed report in the lay out plans that have been done.”
Pillay adds that they agreed to re configure the project steering committee to get better representation from the communities, to ensure that there is more effective communication with them.
He says he is confident that normality will resume. – SABC
Four more people have been arrested for looting at the troubled township of Protea South in Soweto. It brings to 25 the number of people arrested for public violence and looting since Thursday morning.
Police in Soweto have remained on high alert following the violent protests. On Thursday authorities used rubber bullets to disperse crowds after they burnt electric boxes and damaged traffic lights.
Protesting residents chased away Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters when they arrived at the scene of violent service delivery protests in Soweto.
Earlier, Malema told protesters at a violent protest in Kokosi Township in Fochville on the West Rand to fight for land. He also appealed to police deployed in the township to exercise restraint.
Hendrina in the Eastern Transvaal (present ‘Mpumalanga’)
A furious mob of more than 1 000 people went on a violent rampage in the township of KwaZamokuhle in Hendrina on Sunday – threatening violence against Mayor Mike Masina and other Councillors whom they blockaded at the community stadium for almost 30 minutes.
But this was not before they stoned the Mayor’s vehicle and interrupted his speech in which he addressed several concerns raised by KwaZamokuhle residents about a week earlier regarding service delivery. The residents are demanding among others a mall, a hospital and a clinic.
Shortly after Mayor Masina and Councillors were provided safe passage by the Hendrina SAPS and left the area, the angry mob went on to burn a library, satellite police station and community hall.
These Ethiopian shop keepers claim to have lost everything
The residents also burnt shops belonging to foreign nationals on Sunday night. Mostly Ethiopian shop owners were affected. They stated that at least 30 of their businesses were completely looted.
“Our walls were broken down with sledgehammers. We fled for our lives. Every single item was stolen – even chappies. Fridges were unplugged and carried away,” said Ethiopian national Ayele Abush.
Just over 50 Ethiopians are currently being accommodated at the local police station – most of whom claim that they’ve not a single cent left in their pocket. Hendrina police spokesperson, David Mbenekazi, said five people have been detained on allegations of arson, public violence and malicious damage to property They are yet to be formally charged.
“The investigation is ongoing and we expect to make more arrests during the course of the week,” he said.
• The residents of Kwazamokuhle held a protest march to Hendrina Municipal buildings on 10 June 2013 to hand over a memorandum to Mayor Masina – but he was not present to receive it and this infuriated the protestors.
Angry residents made some serious threats towards the Mayor’s office as they waited for two hours for him to arrive – only to be informed that he was in a meeting in Nelspruit. Protestors dispersed and went back home. The following Friday, on 14 June 2013, residents blocked the Arnot – Hendrina road, burnt tyres and stoned vehicles. A Police task force was called in to help subdue the unrest and 37 people were arrested on charges of public violence.
Black clouds of smoke could be seen for miles around Kwazamokuhle. Three people were taken to hospital to be treated for rubber bullet wounds they sustained during the protest.
The people of Kwazamokuhle and Hendrina want a Police Station in Kwazamokuhle, a 24 hour Clinic and English Medium Schools – all before the 2014 elections. – looklocal
Over 7 000 protesters, carrying sticks and knobkerries, arrived at the Benoni Customer Care Centre, at the corner of Elston Avenue and Tom Jones Street, in separate groups on October 17, to hand over a memorandum.
The town was brought to a standstill for two hours, from 8am, and almost all the shops were closed for safety reasons.
The protesters, some as young as 10, vandalised a number of shops, stoned passing motorists, stole goods belonging to hawkers and upturned rubbish bins.
The door of the Department of Education was also broken in the process. No one has been arrested, despite all of this.
The situation calmed as both the SAPS and Metro Police started to arrive in numbers. A police helicopter was also hovering in the sky, to try to keep order.
The protesters were residents of the Actonville hostel and the informal settlements in Actonville and Wattville.
Residents said they wanted houses.
“We have been living in shacks for many years and we are tired of this,” said a woman who wanted to remain anonymous.
An Actonville Hostel resident said they have sewage running all over the hostel and that they were promised proper housing, but that nothing has naterialised.
After handing over their memorandum, the protesters tried to break down the Customer Care Centre fence, in order gain access to the premises, but police used stun grenades to disperse the crowed.
The protesters were then escorted out of town by a police officers. Benoni resident Stephen Frances (19) was beaten with sticks and robbed of his money and cellphone by unruly protesters.
He was walking along Elston Avenue when a mob of protesters pounced on him for no particular reason.
“I did nothing to these people, but they decided to beat me up and take my money and cellphone,” said Frances, who emerged from the crowd running for his life.
He showed the City Times the marks sticks left on his body. – The Citizen
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