A water truck was set alight after it had just drawn water from the depot for delivery at Region 4 informal settlements. Photo: Twitter
City of Tshwane under siege, mayor calls for national police intervention
This is no longer a labour dispute, but an organised crime. These are the feelings of City of Tshwane mayor.
A water truck was set alight after it had just drawn water from the depot for delivery at Region 4 informal settlements. Photo: Twitter
Cilliers has called on the police, Crime Intelligence and Public Order Policing to intervene to end the long-running illegal strike which has crippled service delivery in the City.
“We are not dealing with the labour dispute; it is organised crime which has political and economic interests which I believe have hijacked this unpredicted strike.” These are the words of the Mayor of Tshwane Cilliers Brink following the violence and attack on municipal key infrastructure on Wednesday.
What started as sporadic acts of violence linked to the illegal strike action has now escalated into what the coalition government believes is organised crime aimed at destabilising Tshwane by attacking the City, its property and its employees.
“It is very important that we get the South African police and Crime Intelligence as well as Public Order Policing to safeguard the city’s capital because as I warned weeks ago this is getting out of control and we need the police at a national level to attend to this situation, “ Cilliers said.
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MMC for Community Safety Grandi Theunissen also labeled the ongoing strike as an organised crime taking place in the City of Tshwane.
“It’s clear we are no longer dealing with an illegal strike action, we are now dealing with a well-coordinated criminal attack against the City,” Theunissen added.
On Wednesday, a City of Tshwane bakkie, water tanker, three trucks from Water and Sanitation and an A Re Yeng bus were damaged in various violent incidents in the Pretoria CBD.
[WATCH] We need the South African Police Service at a National Level to attend to the situation in Tshwane. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/fg6Nc4jNdC
— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) September 13, 2023
FOUR MUNICIPAL VEHICLES TORCHED AND TWO EMPLOYEES INJURED
Four of these vehicles were subsequently torched. The first truck, a water tanker was burnt outside the Princess Park depot along Nana Sita (westbound), Charlotte Maxeke and Es’kia Mphahlele Streets, while the water truck was set alight after it had just drawn water from the depot for delivery at Region 4 informal settlements.
At least two City employee was violently assaulted during one of these incidents and taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Theunissen called on the police to act swiftly in arresting the perpetrators behind the illegal strike action which has crippled service delivery in Tshwane.
“What we need now is decisive police intervention and action to identify, trace, arrest and prosecute the culprits who have put City property, service delivery for our residents and the lives of the city’s employees at risk,” he added.
The ongoing strike action led by municipal workers allied with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union has bedevilled the city for more than a month now.
[WATCH] Tonight I’ve joined our waste removal teams as they clean Pretoria CBD with TMPD and private security companies escorting the waste trucks. We will not be intimidated by criminals attacking our infrastructure. @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/kek7JrIMo5
— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) September 13, 2023
In a statement, the City of Tshwane said all A Re Yeng and Tshwane Bus Service operations have been suspended until further notice. This follows incidents of pelting of busses with stones on Wednesday.
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