Category Archives: ash road

Witness: ‘Cops shot at people randomly’

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http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=49543

‘Cops shot at people randomly’
23 Oct 2010
Thamsanqa Magubane

THE ability of the police to handle crowds has been called into question
after their attempts to quell demonstrations by Jika Joe residents on
Thursday night deteriorated into anarchical violence that left scores
injured and property extensively damaged.

The police were called in after the community started demonstrating when
a resident, Mndeni Zuma (33), a private security guard, was shot dead at
the gate of the settlement, allegedly by a Msunduzi Municipality
security guard.

Residents living close to the informal settlement were awakened by the
noise of stun grenades and police firing rubber bullets to disperse a
mob who were baying for the blood of council guards.

The residents blockaded a section of Masukwana Street, burning rubbish
and pelting the police with stones.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joey Jeevan said the chaos was
caused by Zuma’s killing. She said Zuma suffered gunshot wound to the
chest.

Jeevan said an investigation found that earlier in the day, at about 5
pm, two security guards were on duty at a municipal site when they were
attacked by a group of eight men from the area.

The guards called for back-up and at about 8?pm the same group came back
with another group of males armed with firearms, sticks and stones.

“The much larger group again attacked the security guards, demanding
that they leave the site.

“One of the group members then fired shots at the security guards,
forcing them to retaliate.”.

Jeevan said that during the exchange of gunfire, one of the males in the
group was shot and killed.

This angered the community, who started demonstrating and throwing
rubbish on the street.

Bheki Dladla, a community leader, said that after he failed to calm the
residents, he decided to call the councillor for the area, Peter Green,
and the police.

He said: “When the police arrived, they simply antagonised the community
further. Instead of calling for them to disperse, they started shooting
randomly.”

Three people sustained serious leg injuries and one was taken to
hospital with a bullet lodged in her leg.

Dladla said he too was victimised by the police.

Two cars, one belonging to him and another borrowed from a relative,
were extensively damaged by the police.

An eyewitness said three police officers seemed to be enjoying
themselves breaking the windows.

Green, who was also at the scene, blamed the police for the violence.

“I believe the police are not properly trained to handle crowds. I
witnessed them shooting randomly at the people,” he said.

A case of public violence has been opened and is being investigated.

Witness: Jika Joe: Council moves ahead with rehabilitation

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An ANC backed shack lord, willing to issue death threats, has made it impossible for Abahlali baseMjondolo to sustain open organisation in the Ash Road settlement (aka Jika Joe). But resistance continues by other less open means – like non-cooperation with the municipality’s survey prior to planned forced removal to transit camps.

http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=40924

Jika Joe: Council moves ahead with rehabilitation
19 May 2010
Sanelisiwe Shamase

DESPITE initial hiccups, the Msunduzi Municipality is moving ahead with
the rehabilitation of the Jika Joe settlement as announced two weeks
ago.

Speaking to The Witness yesterday, ward councillor Peter Green said the
relocation of the settlement residents is still on track.

He said about 9 shack dwellings were destroyed in the fires set off by a
candle in the early hours of Monday morning, and affected residents are
being housed in tents next to the hall at the Masukwana housing project
premises.

He said the municipality did a major clean up following the blaze and
tall the rubbish that had accumulated in the area was removed.

“Temporary housing is still on line. Funds have to be sourced and
residents have to be verified.” said Green. He said the municipality
attempted to conduct a survey of the residents last week, but residents
did not cooperate.

Green said had he known, he would have advised officials to go through
the relevant committee in the area to gain the residents’ support.

He said he subsequently met with the committee regarding the survey and
municipal representatives at the Tatham Sports Grounds on Sunday.

Although the wheels are in motion, there are still issues to sort out,
such as the continuous stealing of electricity, unscrupulous landlords
and the informal economy. “Obviously we can’t destroy the informal
economy, but we simply cannot sit back and allow illegal activities to
continue”.

http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=40313

Three temporary sites for Jika Joe residents
10 May 2010
Sanelisiwe Shamase

THREE pieces of land have been identified for the temporary reallocation of Jika Joe residents as the Msunduzi Municipality has finally decided to demolish the shacks and rehabilitate the entire site.

This comes hot on the heels of the death of a three-year-old toddler on Saturday, who was electrocuted while playing with illegally connected electricity wires that were running along the ground.

At yesterday’s executive committee meeting, Msunduzi’s process manager for infrastructure, planning and surveying, Trevor Cowie, said it is imperative that the Jika Joe settlement residents be moved from the site, as they are living in dangerous and unhygienic conditions.

Cowie said the municipality has been battling to move the residents for years and that even though Reconstruction and Development Programme houses were provided for them in France township in 1998, many refused to go there.

Following the floods of 2008, the municipality provided tents and temporary housing to the Jika Joe residents, but others have since moved on to the flood plain — which is also dangerously placed under a power line.

He said the main reason why residents are reluctant to leave the area is because they do not want to be too far from town.

Three council properties in the vicinity of the current settlement will house Jika Joe residents temporarily while the settlement is being rehabilitated.

The three sites are as follows:

• Site one, next to the existing temporary housing units on Masukwana Street, which can accommodate about 130 temporary units;

• Site two, at the existing Tatham Sports Grounds, which can accommodate about 590 temporary units; and

• Site three, next to Fitzsimmons Road, which can accommodate about 280 units.

The municipality plans to provide water, electricity, a bulk sewer connection and waste removal services for these sites, while Exco waits for the arrival of a report detailing a permanent housing solution for the residents in a month’s time. To prevent resettlement on the land, the site will be fenced and monitored by security. The total cost of the 800 temporary housing units and its services will be R76 000.

Witness: Jika Joe blaze leaves several residents destitute

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As is typical this newspaper report about a shack fire says nothing about (1) the denial by the state of formal access to electricity by shack dwellers, (2) the criminalisation of attempts, even when well organised and non-commodified, to arrange safe informal connections and (3) the misuse of the real problem of shack fires to legitimate the eradication and forced removal agenda.


http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=40844

Jika Joe blaze leaves several residents destitute
18 May 2010
Thami Magubane

A FIRE gutted homes at the Jika Joe informal settlement in the early
hours of yesterday morning, leaving one person with burn wounds, 25
others destitute and at least nine informal housing structures razed to
the ground.

The fire allegedly started at about 4?am when one of the residents fell
asleep with his candle lit. The candle fell to the floor and burned down
the informal structures in the top part of the settlement in Masukwane
Road.

By yesterday morning, many of the residents were busy cleaning up, but
there was little to salvage as most of their belongings had been burned
to ashes. A handful of people managed to retrieve items such as
blankets.

Jeff Wicks of Netcare 911 said the person who was burnt on his arms was
injured as he fought the blaze. He was stabilised by paramedics and
transported to hospital.

Mlamuli Mtolo, one of the affected residents, said in the past 11 years
of living in the area, he has been a victim of fires at least three
times.

“Every winter this happens, today there is fire here and soon the fire
will be at the settlement across the river,” said Mtolo.

“I woke up to find that the area had already been overwhelmed by the
fire, and I managed to rescue just a few belongings and the rest were
burned. Now I need to look for materials so I can rebuild my house and
have a place to sleep tonight,” he said.

Bheki Dladla, a community leader at the settlement, said it is high time
the city fulfills its mandate and builds houses for the people. “They
need to get rid of all the shacks here because this is a disaster
waiting to happen.”

Disaster Management chief John Gutridge said they were looking at
providing the materials such as food, tents and blankets to the many
people affected by the fire.

Witness: Jika Joe residents battle cops over disconnections

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http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=37984

Jika Joe residents battle cops over disconnections

Thami Magubane


The police remove electricity connections from Ash Road [aka Jika Joe]

26 Mar 2010

RESIDENTS of the Jika Joe informal settlement in the lower CBD were
yesterday engaged in running battles with police after they allegedly
disconnected illegal electricity connections.

The disconnections come after numerous complaints from other residents
near the settlement, who said the connections have put the electricity
supply under severe strain, resulting in numerous power outages.

According to the residents, yesterday’s skirmish began last week when
Msunduzi municipal electricians tried to remove the connections.

They were allegedly stoned by the residents. The police were called in
and they used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

Some residents sporting bruises allegedly sustained during that
incident, said police were shooting indiscriminately.

Sifiso Mkhize, one of the injured, said he was not even part of the
fracas when the police shot him.

“I was just coming out of my room and the police were just shooting.

“One of the bullets hit me in the arm and even now my arm is still
swollen.”

After last Thursday’s skirmish, police returned in numbers yesterday to
stand guard as municipal employees removed all the illegal connections.

There were at least nine police cars.

The angry residents resorted to throwing all the rubbish from the
settlement into Masukwane (East) Street, demanding that the police
remove all the rubbish, which they say was last collected before the
municipal strike.

They blockaded the road with rubbish, old fencing and wood.

Police then sealed off the entrances to the settlements between
Masukwane and Burger streets.

The police had to remove the rubbish themselves to open the roads.

Community leader Bheki Dladla said the residents threw rubbish on to the
streets to vent their anger.

“The rubbish here has not been collected since the municipal strike,
despite them paying for it to be removed, and the community is just
angry about that.”

He said the residents will no longer siphon off electricity from the
transformers as they were negotiating with the municipality to install
proper meter boxes.

The process manager at the Msunduzi Municipality, Maxwell Mthembu, was
not available for comment.

Police spokeswoman Inspector Joey Jeevan confirmed that last Thursday,
the police had an altercation with the residents after they had tried to
stone municipal employees. She said the police used rubber bullets to
disperse the crowds.

“A similar protest took place yesterday.

“However, no violent incidents were reported,” she said.

Witness: Dumpsite pickers protest

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http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=17340

Dumpsite pickers protest
14 Dec 2008
Bongani Hans

“We may be poor, but we are not criminals. We need the right to pick up [waste] from the dump [Msunduzi landfill site] without being beaten up by your security guards.”

This was the plea from “fed up” waste pickers, who marched to the city hall on Friday to hand over a memorandum to the Msunduzi Municipality. About 100 protesters said they are angry about the everyday physical abuse they allegedly suffer at the hands of the municipality’s security guards stationed at the landfill site.

“I have been beaten up many times, and my elder brother was shot in the stomach, just for picking up from the dump,” said David Dlamini.

The marchers, mostly residents of Ash Road informal settlement, are poor and unemployed.

Many wore black T-shirts supplied to them by Groundwork, an environmental lobby group that has volunteered to fight for their rights. They marched from Masukwane (East) Street to the city hall carrying placards with messages of their plight.

Marching with them were Groundwork staff and leaders of the Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement, which fights for the rights of shack dwellers.

They intended to hand their memorandum over to Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo, who declined it, saying their complaint falls under the administration. Municipal manager Rob Haswell was also too busy to accept it, so community development process manager Mandla Zuma accepted it.

Besides demanding protection from abusive security guards, they also want to be included in any decisions that affect their operation at the site.

“The security [guards] hired by the Municipality have, in the past, shot people and physically abused people who have worked on the landfill site.

“The National Environmental Management Waste Bill allows for ‘salvaging’ of waste off landfill sites. Developments at the site, such as the gas extraction project and recycling proposals have excluded the waste pickers and not sought their opinions on such developments,” said the memorandum.

Ntombi Luthili said she supports her large family with the waste she picks from the site. “I have a family of 17 members and there is no man to help support it. I started picking up waste before 1990, and with the money I made out of selling it, I’m able to send my children to school and feed them.

“If they prevent us from going to the site what kind of Christmas do they want us to celebrate without money? How are we going to send our children back to school next year? They are rich and they can afford (what they need), so they should allow us to make a living,” said Luthuli.

However, Zuma said there are laws that prevent the municipality from allowing people free movement inside the dump.

“We are going to look at the matter. It is not about going to sleep and waking up with a decision, but there is a process to be followed,” said Zuma.