MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The violent unrest and protest that disrupted Mossel Bay and surrounding areas for two days came to an end on Tuesday afternoon, 24 July.
This is what was agreed on at a meeting between the leadership of the Mossel Bay Municipality and the Asla Park community on Tuesday afternoon.
Mossel Bay municipal manager Advocate Thys Giliomee confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the municipal leadership, led by the executive mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal, agreed with the leaders of the protesters of Asla Park to reconvene on 7 August for feedback on their list of grievances and demands.
Demands
Alderman Harry Levendal addressed approximately 500 people at the taxi rank in Asla Park early on Tuesday after receiving a list of demands from the protesters who effectively paralysed much of Mossel Bay for two consecutive days.
It was agreed that a delegation of 20 leaders representing the protesters would meet the municipal leadership on Tuesday afternoon to fully discuss the demands and listed grievances before the mayor and his senior management conducted a visit to several areas of concern in Asla Park.
It was noticable how many children were involved in the meetings with the mayoral delegation. According to eye witness reports many youngsters were part of the groups that intimidated residents of Asla Park.
The demands include, among others, that land be made available for informal and backyard dwellers for housing, and a specific demand was made for the municipal land where the new cemetery was recently developed; that landless people be given access to land; that municipal services be restored to those who cannot pay for it; that the community members be allowed to buy their electricity directly from Eskom; that small business and taxi industries be supported; that unemployment and drug abuse be addressed; and that a meeting on the municipal integrated development plan be held in the ward.
The mayoral delegation and coordinator of the Joint Operations Centre, Joseph Johnson went on an in loco visit of the affected areas.
Further meeting
After a marathon meeting lasting more than three hours, the mayor agreed that feedback on the above and other demands would be available in two weeks' time when a follow-up meeting is planned.
Earlier in the day, directly after meeting the Asla Park community, the mayoral delegation visited Brandwag, where residents were obstructing traffic flow on the R328, the road between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.
This meeting did not end amicably and members of the Public Order Policing Unit had to intervene. The Brandwag community demanded services such as potable water and sanitation for Riemvasmaak, an informal settlement on private land.
At times the talks were conducted in strenuous circumstances.
Protest ends
Directly after the meeting with the leadership of the Asla Park protesters, the municipal manager confirmed that the protest was officially over and that Louis Fourie Road was reopened to traffic, although police continued to monitor the situation.
The situation in Brandwag was not resolved at the time of going to press.
Read a related article: Update: Councillors to meet with protest leaders
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