‘Burning issues’: why Thembisa residents reached boiling point

Thembisa residents claim they have tried to raise their grievances with Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell since April, but their efforts have proved fruitless. 

Thembisa Community Forum (TCF) chairperson Zamani Sithole, 40, said the first memorandum listing their grievances about service delivery and electricity tariffs was sent to the mayor's office in April.

According to Sithole, this week's protest, during which disgruntled community members torched municipal property, was their third this year. 

The first two were smaller and peaceful. 

“Burning issues are how we are billed here, which is inconsistent and unfair. It needs to be resolved,” he said.

Sithole complained the municipality was implementing policies that did not favour the majority of people who were poor.

The indigent policy was unclear and residents did not know if it had changed or improved.

The policy he was referring to is aimed at including those excluded from basic services through the provision of a social safety net. It is intended to improve the lives of indigents and improve access to free basic services. 

Sithole said as things stand, the community did not know how or whether it was benefiting from the policy. 

He said their understanding was that the municipality had implemented the indigent policy and because of this, many were without electricity as, according to the policy framework, they did not qualify to benefit from it.

“They [residents] didn’t know what to do and when they went back to try to apply they were approved and declined based on changes. We need to understand how we navigate around this thing and the interim plan so that these people can restore their power.”

He claimed the municipality changed the rates in Thembisa and they were not the same across the board. According to him, the rates residents pay are based on the value of their properties.

“It comes to the issue of having a blanket approach; some people live in these houses that they have inherited, but no one is working — maybe there are eight children there and one person who receives a grant, and now they have to pay rates based on the value of the property they have inherited, but no one can afford it.”

He said residents needed a flat rate enabling everyone to be billed fairly. The munipality claimed it had consulted the community but the forum had no proof of that.

He said they don’t have prepaid electricity meters.

“We don’t have meters. They link your account to your cellphone. You have to have airtime to know what is happening with your electricity. You just go and buy, and it is automatically loaded to your house, then after you have to check with your phone.”

Gauteng human settlements, urban planning and co-operative governance MEC Lebogang Maile, Campbell, city and provincial officials briefed the media at Thembisa police station and subsequently visited the bereaved families of four people killed in the protests on Monday. 

Campbell said there weren’t many changes to the indigent programme.

“In actual fact, we have only enhanced it by bringing a debt relief policy as well. This will be part of the feedback of Friday's meeting because there are certain systems that need to be followed for indigents to qualify,” she said.

When asked about communication with residents and the memorandum submitted to her office in April, she said that was the type of question that fuelled the chaos that erupted in Thembisa.

TimesLIVE understands two of the people who died on Monday were allegedly killed when a gas cylinder exploded while they were trying to bomb an ATM and one allegedly after being shot by an Ekurhuleni metro police officer.

“I have asked certain departments to investigate issues for me where we then as a municipality can step in and give relief to residents. If I do not give the departments the space to investigate those specifics that I have asked them to do then I will only be doing lip service,” said Campbell. 

She said the MMCs attended the meetings with the community.

“When public meetings get called I cannot take the duties of councillors. Otherwise, that makes the councillors irrelevant. Last Friday was the feedback meeting from the MMCs to the community. This Friday is feedback from me as the executive mayor.”

She said her coalition government had never blamed the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs for the community's crisis but had instead approached the department, the MEC and the premier’s office about issues that do not fall under the municipality.

“MEC [Maile] has given his word that they will be investigating certain matters for us. We will enhance on giving feedback to the community on Friday. We cannot change policy [indigent] that will be to the negativity of the poor that actually need that,” she said.

Maile said they do not set rates or collect taxes for municipalities. They play a certain role in terms of the law including appointing the people who sit and adjudicate on matters of rates and taxes.

“Service delivery matters are complex and they are huge. We would like to call [independent police investigative directorate] Ipid to move with speed on the investigation about the people who were killed in the protest,” he said.

He added he wasn’t worried about the protests but the problem was “when they get out of hand and you see state properties being torched and people losing their lives that's what we must be worried about”.

Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the municipal centre and a substation were burnt down while 31 vehicles were torched.

“Some of the cars were vandalised and car batteries were stolen. We are just waiting for the fleet, energy, IT and customer relations departments to quantify the damages so that we will know what to claim from the insurance company,” he said.

On Wednesday some of the roads were still barricaded with stones while residents tried to burn tyres after Maile addressed them about their service delivery grievances.

Two of the deceased have been identified as Eugene Shabalala, a chef, and Pheta Molonyana, a welder.

Maile, having visited Molonyana's family, lashed out at the EMPD after hearing their version of events.

“The deceased was a welder who was working for himself. He was shot while [clad] in his working gear. The boots, the overalls, the gloves — meaning he was not even part of the protest,” he said.

“He was [allegedly] shot by a white officer who has no shame, who boldly declared he indeed shot him. The same guy, we are told, nearly ran over the mother of the deceased.”

Maile called for the police officer to be dealt with harshly if the allegations were true. Ipid sent officers to Thembisa on Monday to gather information.