UNTIL PRESIDENT Ramphosa addresses us, we shall not stop protesting.
Those are the demands by disgruntled Diepsloot residents, who planned to march to Union Buildings on Wednesday.
Their gripe: crime and poor service delivery.
For two days the community members braced chilly weather protesting over the lack of adequate policing and rampant crime.
Illegal immigrants, gunshots, hijackings, and zero police visibility were just some of the many problems described by residents.
Gatvol Lefa Nkala, a community leader said their last option was to take their anger to the Union Buildings, hoping for presidential intervention.
“Our people are dying day in and day out. We cannot fold our arms and act as if things are normal. We will be at the Union Buildings, knocking at the door of the president.”
He says they they’ve been let down and neglected by Government, the police minister Bheki Cele, who just over a year promised intervention to deal with crime in the area, saying they were tired of all the promises.
Diepsloot and other communities in Gauteng are calling for a solution to issues relating to crime, illegal immigrants and drugs. Some of alleged homes of suspected criminals were also burnt.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili says the management of the police in Diepsloot has mobilised various units to monitor the protests.
“The community is complaining of lack of police visibility and high crime levels, influx of illegal immigrants that are allegedly committing crime as well as other service delivery issues. These are mostly residents from informal settlements that have challenges with environmental design,” she said.
Muridili said police vehicles were not able to get into the “congested areas for patrols, especially at night, as there is no electricity”.
Talk of electricity- Eskom says it will stop servicing troubled Diepsloot due to safety concerns, as residents blocked N14 highway in the area.
Image (A burning tyre in Diepsloot as residents protest about rampant crime and poor service delivery).
