Warring Mamelodi communities meet
28 June 2017
Pretoria – A meeting was held between the warring communities of Mahube Valley extension one and their next door neighbours, an informal settlement called Mountain View in a bid to end the violence between them.
The meeting was led by the City of Tshwane.
Last week, battles erupted between the two communities. The violence, which started on Wednesday evening and continued into Thursday, saw several houses and more than 50 shacks petrol bombed.
Clashes broke out after a substation was damaged, allegedly caused by illegal electricity connections by residents of the informal settlement.
Many families from both communities were left destitute and their belongings destroyed in the fires.
MMC for Housing and Human Settlements Mandla Nkomo said the first official meeting with affected residents was held to find a solution to end the violence and find mutual agreement for the impasse faced by the two clashing communities.
"As fellow human beings, we cannot be happy that we are vandalising infrastructure and damaging each other's properties," said Nkomo.
"What has happened is unfortunate and should never happen again. That there is a housing backlog does not justify the inhumane way we treat each other, resulting in unnecessary pain."
Electricity
Nkomo said the informal settlement residents pressed the city for the electrification of their area, but Nkomo was adamant that the city cannot defy the IDP process and MFMA guidelines in providing services.
"We are not here to tell you lies that there will be electricity tomorrow. Equally, the city cannot justify the jumping of queues in providing services."
The city has also secured a court order, preventing residents from tampering with the resources of the municipality.
On Tuesday, a sense of calm prevailed. Police were no longer in the area and residents of the informal settlement had started to rebuild their homes.
In resolving the stalemate between the two communities, Nkomo announced that the city would conduct an assessment and viability study which will help in providing temporary services to the informal settlement. The city will also conduct a feasibility study of the future development of the informal settlement and will hold further engagements with residents from Mahube Valley - who live in bond houses.
Last week, City of Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga suggested that a wall was needed between the two communities. However, Nkomo said a wall had been previously built in Mahube Valley as it was a closed off, gated community.
He said the wall had been erected before the creation of the informal settlement but was allegedly torn down by the informal dwellers.
"When the people invaded the land, they broke down the wall to access infrastructure," Nkomo told News24.
