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The community of Viljoenskroon, in the Free State, is on edge. On Monday, the residents torched a hall – which was meant to be used as a voting station – and a clinic.
They are unhappy over the slow pace of service delivery. The people of Viljoenskroon want stands, to build homes, and water.
At least 24 of them are in custody and are expected to appear in court between Thursday and Friday. The community says it has had enough of the ANC rule.
It’s accusing officials of ignoring its water problems, which it says, have been going on for a while now. The residents are also threatening to withhold their vote on Wednesday.
Their leaders have gone to ground, saying they fear arrest. Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute’s head of research, Angelo Fick, says there’s nothing unusual about the protests during the election season.
However, he says, it would be interesting to see how the demonstrations – this time around – will affect Wednesday’s general elections.
