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NATIONAL NEWS & VIDEOS - Residents of Reiger Park in Boksburg took to the streets yesterday in a protest over lack of service delivery from the local police and their ward councillor.
Fed-up residents stormed the Reiger Park SAPS and the Boksburg Civic Centre yesterday to express their anger.
They are accusing the police of not protecting them against an armed gang who are allegedly terrorising the community, dragging their feet with serious cases and also pointed fingers to Ward 34 Councillor Edith Klassen for not putting their interests first.
The protest started when disgruntled protesters blocked off several roads around the community with burning tyres, rocks and other objects. They then marched from the township to the Boksburg Civic Centre to hand over a memorandum of grievances to Klassen.
The community accuses Klassen of snubbing them, including her team of ward committee members, while giving preferences to her own political party and unofficial community groupings.
The residents also accuse the councillor of failing to consult or update residents on community projects and other developments, of displaying lack of interests in working with the elected ward committee members, of denying residents access to use council facilities to hold public meetings, and of putting the interest of her political party first.
Klassen confirmed receiving the residents’ complaints and said she will endeavour to respond to all the allegations against her within seven days.
She says that her car came under attack after protesters pelted it with stones as she was driving to the township.
VIDEO: 'Poor' service leads to protest
‘Poor’ police service leads to protest
The Reiger Park police management has been slammed for an alleged failure to protect the community and its energy infrastructure against a gang of gunmen who have reportedly been terrorising them.
Following the handover of the memorandum at the civic centre, the angry protesters marched back to the township and proceeded to the police station where they demanded that the ‘useless’ police station be closed down until a complete overhaul of the staff has been conducted.
According to one of the protesting residents, Melissa Crawford, the community is unhappy about ‘poor’ police service.
They accuse police officers of incompetence in fulfilling their mandates, saying they are sometimes found sleeping on the job and that they sometimes close the police station during the night.
“We had a number of cable thefts and a deadly shooting by a gang of people. When we asked the police to assist us, they told us that they are also scared because the suspects are heavily armed.
“Every time when we approach them (the police) for help, they give us excuses. What’s the point of having a police station that can’t protect the community?” asks Crawford.
Residents also complain that victims are not being kept up to date with developments in the cases they have reported.
The station management, with a representative of the provincial SAPS, reportedly tried to engage the protesters at the police station, but the crowd remained rowdy. They remained at the police station for most part of the afternoon, while their community leaders were in a closed meeting with police leadership.
According to Crawford, the crowd dispersed after community leaders reached an agreement with the SAPS to allow management time to look at their grievances and to arrange a meeting with the community.
Officials from top SAPS management structures are expected to attend the meeting.
VIDEO: Disgruntled protesters block of several roads
“We were told that the meeting to be attended by the provincial commissioner of police, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, will be held on Wednesday night. We look forward to be addressed by him,” says Crawford.
The Reiger Park SAPS spokesperson Costable Johannes Msimanga confirmed the protest but referred the Boksburg Advertiser to the provincial SAPS for comment.
“Law enforcement agencies, including members of the SAPS and EMPD’s Public Order Policing are monitoring the situation,” says Msimanga.
He says that so far, no violent incidents were reported.
The newspaper reached out to the provincial SAPS as well as the Ekurhuleni Metro for comment. It was not obtained at the time of publishing and will be added once received.
The Reiger Park police station made the news in October when a video surfaced on social media of community members not being able to enter the station because it was locked.
Msimanga responded at the time that the station remains operational 24/7, but that on the night in question, the gate was locked due to load shedding at the station.
