Alexandra protest temporarily called off
Organisers of #AlexTotalShutdown temporarily called off the strike in Alexendra, north of Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.
Event organiser Sandile Mavundla said they had received information that a private security company was hired "to wait for protesters" near Grayston Bridge.
"You can't risk the lives of the people, because you don't know what will happen. Live ammunition will be fired and then we don't want to see any fatalities," Mavundla said.
He said they had temporarily suspended the protest and had allowed people to go to work and children to attend schools.
"We can't just stop the inner Alexandra. That means we are affecting ourselves. We appeal to our community to temporarily suspend the strike.
"We need to think of the working class and the kids at school. One day missed is a lot at school level," Mavundla said.
Residents of Alexandra in Johannesburg blocked roads in various parts of the area on April 2 2019 over what they say is poor service delivery and a lack of development.
He said they would regroup later on Thursday afternoon.
Disgruntled community members took to the streets on Wednesday to voice their frustrations about illegal connections to municipal infrastructure, an increase in crime, drugs and the mushrooming of illegal dwellings.
Residents also refused to be addressed by Johannesburg mayoral committee member responsible for public safety Michael Sun.
They demanded to be addressed by Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba.
Mashaba's spokesperson, Luyanda Mfeka, told TimesLIVE on Thursday that they had extended an invitation on to the leadership of the #AlexTotalShutdown to meet with the mayor.
"As of this morning we haven't received any correspondence from them. We remain open to have that engagement and it is really up to the leadership of that protest to let us know if they are willing to have that," he said.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said there were no reports of protest action in the area.
"There are still a lot of rocks and tyres on the road (from) of yesterday [Wednesday], so the cars are making their way around this obstruction.
"There is no protest that we are aware of," Minnaar said.