Durban — Clare Estate residents, businesses and schools were hoping there would not be a repeat of Monday’s violent service delivery protest.
Disgruntled residents from an informal settlement along Burnwood Road blocked the streets with rubble, tyres they set alight and a shipping container.
They intimidated motorists and pedestrians before Public Order Police intervened.
Residents from the informal settlement were demanding better toilet facilities. At present they use mobile toilets.
Durban Metro Police spokesperson Boysie Zungu said there were about 200 protesters blocking the roadway.
“They started to interfere with pedestrians and when the police arrived, the crowd started to throw stones and bottles at them. Police used stun grenades and reduced rubber bullets to disperse the crowd,” Zungu said.
This was the second time in less than a month residents from Burnwood informal settlements took to the streets demanding better service delivery.
A local security company, CLK Protection, said the protest started at about 5.30am.
Protesters were seen on video pushing a red shipping container and rolling it until it was in the centre of the road, blocking traffic.
Clare Estate Ratepayers Association spokesperson Navin Dookran said the protests were unnecessary, and the damages wasted money spent on infrastructure.
“Our question is, why can’t the mayor’s office assist, and listen to the people’s request? The mayor needs to come back to Clare Estate and address all the communities in an imbizo meeting,” Dookran said.
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said they were not aware of the protest but the city was always open to engaging with residents.
“We plead with residents to stop addressing their grievances through protests as these serve no purpose and the message is lost in the chaos. We will be engaging further with the ward councillor and the community on the matter,” Mayisela said.
Residents reported they had seen three bakkies arrive with tyres which were then placed across the road and set alight.
The protest brought disruption to two primary schools and one secondary school nearby and prevented public transport from keeping to the schedules, which also led to a loss of business in the area.
eThekwini ward 25 councillor Themba Mkhize could not be reached for comment.
Daily News