Phoenix protests over water outages turn violent

A Durban community organisation has blamed aggressive police action for clashes between public order police and Phoenix residents during a service delivery protest over the water crisis.

A number of protesting residents reportedly sustained injuries after clashing with police in Phoenix, north of Durban, on Monday.

Community organisation Voice of Phoenix, which organised the protest, confirmed to TimesLIVE that at least two of the injured were taken to hospital.

“The people who were taken to hospital are still being treated. The female was shot in the face [with a rubber bullet] and will be admitted and so will the other guy who was shot in the leg,” said spokesperson Pastor Mervin Reddy.

Reddy said there were also children who sustained injuries, while another man was shot in the back with rubber bullets.

Another man claimed a policeman had knocked his teeth out with a shield while pushing back the crowd.

Reddy said they had been protesting peacefully with metro police and other emergency services present, until the SAPS public order police arrived.

He said the protest turned violent when the police tried to remove the protesters along Phoenix Highway and, when they refused to disperse, the police threw teargas.

“It started becoming violent and the police started firing rubber bullets, pushing the crowd to the corner of Eastbury Road and Phoenix Highway which is probably over a kilometre away,” he said.

“When they got to that point things got a bit out of hand between the police and protesters and the manner in which the police responded was very violent,” he alleged. “They instigated this violence when they got to where the people protesting were gathered.”

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala said three suspects were arrested for public violence.

She said a 50-year-old man was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Reddy’s remarks were echoed by Vincent Pillay, a Phoenix resident, who said the police followed them from the corner of the M41 and Phoenix Highway to Eastbury Drive.

“There was no harm done, some guys were having verbal disagreements, which is normal, but everything was cool. Then I don’t know what happened but the police fired two rubber bullets and used teargas as well. They shot a lady in the mouth and my friend as well.”

Phoenix Highway was one of six access points to Phoenix that the protesters closed by parking vehicles across the roads from 4.30am to 9am.

They demanded that the municipality address water and electricity outages and limit the turnaround times for repairs to faults in the two services to a 24-hour time frame.

Reddy said they were frustrated with intermittent water outages, which were made worse by the lack of early notifications from the city.

“We’re having outages without notice. If they do tell you to store water, you sometimes find that it has been shut off again before you can store it and plan. We’ve had water shut-offs from 10am right through to the next morning.”

He added that some parts of the area had spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve without water, with no proper communication from the municipality.

Reddy said this was a “humanitarian crisis” that necessitated the removal of the mayor, that eThekwini should be put under administration and that national government should intervene.

“How do people go on with their lives normally when eThekwini imposes a humanitarian crisis on residents by not supplying them with adequate water, or none at all sometimes? We’re not getting direct answers.”

Pillay said water had been restored between 5am and 8am on Monday and that politicians had failed to inform residents.

“We just want water and electricity. We are paying exorbitant bills for services we’re not getting. The ANC has failed us and the DA councillor is not doing anything. We had to sacrifice one day’s salary to stand on the road because we’re fighting for our communities.”

In a joint statement with uMngeni-Uthukela Water and the national department of water & sanitation, eThekwini said the supply disruptions in Verulam, oThongathi and Phoenix are due to the old northern aqueduct not performing optimally. They said a new aqueduct was planned — the first phase of commissioning is set for February 15 — which would be a permanent solution to the problem.

“In the meantime, the municipality has been implementing various interventions to improve the performance of the old aqueduct, including reducing leaks and replacing defective air valves. These interventions are expected to be completed in the second week of February.”

TimesLIVE