The residents of Alexandra took to the streets of Alex early hours of Wednesday morning; roads have been barricaded and Johannesburg motorists are being urged to travel with caution.
The protest, which was planned on Monday evening, received support from the local African National Congress (ANC), which urged all residents to take part in the peaceful shutdown. Disgruntled residents are unhappy with the lack of adequate service delivery to their community, blaming Herman Mashaba, for turning a death ear to their grievances.
Residents have vowed to continue protest until Joburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba meets with them physically to address their grievances, instead Mashaba addressed them through the media which left them fuming.
Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg and is located near the upper-class suburb of Sandton City, which is Johannesburg's economic hub. It is fully infested with rats, dirty streets, sewage flowing in streets, corrugated iron houses (shacks). The ANC government has led Gauteng for at least 25-years and has done nothing about the situation. The Democratic Alliance is blamed (2 and half years in office) for ignoring the situation and is expected to turn stones into bread.
While residents are frustrated, leaders of both ANC and DA are shifting blame - the kettle is telling the pot your duty is to cook food and the pot is telling the kettle your duty is to boil water. At the end of the day they both carrying the heat.
Mashaba is adamant on blaming the ANC government which, according to him promised the residents projects worth millions during the 2016 elections. He claims some of those promises are out of his budget.
Mashaba said what his government spent in Alex was not spent by the ANC in 25 years.
On Thursday morning he continued to address the residents of Alex through the media. He also blamed ANC government, asking why they're not prepared to deal with the issue of foreign nationals.
He also said that the protest was not organized by the people of Alex but the ANC government.
Mashaba has not detailed a plan in terms of meeting with the residents of Alex and to halt the protest.
Covered by Buchule Raba @BuchuleB
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