Irate residents barricaded the intersection on the corner of Church and Recreation roads in Floors with burning tyres yesterday due to service delivery grievances.
IRATE residents barricaded the intersection on the corner of Church and Recreation roads in Floors with burning tyres on Thursday due to service delivery grievances.
Residents threatened to shut down the entire Floors area next week if their issues were not attended to.
They stated that they were fed up with the potholes, leaking water pipes, unkempt surroundings, illegal dumping and sewage issues.
Residents complained that the lives of patients who were dependent on oxygen were at risk due to the six-and-a-half-hour electricity cuts that were implemented twice a day when Stage 6 load shedding was introduced this week.
“Patients are unable to cook during load shedding and they cannot take their medication on an empty stomach. One diabetic resident fell into a coma as she was not able to eat anything during the power cuts this week.”
They pointed out that occupants of the Helen Bishop orthopaedic home and the old age home are unable to survive without electricity.
Residents also turned their anger on the ward councillor whom they believed should be removed.
“There are no services in this area, where is the councillor? He removed himself from our WhatsApp group.
“It seems as if we are not getting any service delivery because this is a DA ward. The people who are living in shanties must live like animals without any proper toilets or running water.”
DA ward councillor George Joseph stated that he would escalate the grievances to the Speaker’s and Mayor’s offices.
“There will be a follow-up meeting at the same intersection on January 19, which the mayor and Speaker have promised to attend. Service delivery issues in this area have been ongoing – it is the duty of the municipality to fix it.”
