Hostel induna angry at mayor!

A DIEPKLOOF Hostel induna is angry at Joburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda for pulling a no show.

Gwamanda was set to lead a switch-on operation through City Power at Diepkloof Hostel on Tuesday, 12 March, but had a change of heart at the last minute.

Hostel chairman, Sibongiseni Khoza said it was disappointing that the mayor didn't show as they were hoping he would address their challenges.

“He is not respecting us. If he continues the way he does without respecting us, there is a way we are going to use to make them respect us,” he said.

"As we have been living in houses that have leaking roofs, people we are leading keep asking us what we are doing to change the situation.”

Khoza said they were unable to stop residents from protesting. “We have tried to calm them down, but anything can happen anytime from this week,” he said.

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He said only water and electricity were installed and their living condition was deplorable. “Water gets in where I sleep. It does not make sense to provide communal water taps outside, but we sleep in the house like that,” he said.

Gwamanda’s spokesman, Mlimandlela Ndamase said the mayor skipped the Diepkloof Hostel electrification launch to attend to the current water crisis in the Ccity.

“The mayor regrettably had to cancel his pre-arranged launch of the Diepkloof Hostel Electrification Project in order to attend to the protracted water disruptions that have plagued the city,” he said in a statement responding to GroundUp.

“The community of Diepkloof had previously engaged the mayor in relation to several challenges confronted by the hostel and today’s launch would’ve been an opportunity to highlight some key milestones and to further gauge the community’s satisfaction with progress thus far on matters raised previously,” said Ndamase, adding tha the mayor will return in the future.

The residents embarked on dangerous protests in 2023, blocking the N12 and allegedly looting a truck.