IDP meeting ends in chaos in Ivory Park

04 April 2017

 

Apublic engagement on the City of Johannesburg’s 2017-2021 Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the proposed R56-billion 2017-2018 Budget ended in chaos in Ivory Park in Region A on Monday, April 3, after unruly community members, mostly youths dressed in ANC colours, stormed the podium and forced Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety Cllr Michael Sun to cut short his speech.

 

The IDP is a five-year plan a municipality is legally required to compile to address the development needs of communities. Projects in the IDP are also linked to the municipality's annual Budget.

MMC Sun had apparently touched a raw nerve when he, halfway through his presentation on tariff determination, made a point by using a house worth R300 000 as an example. Angry residents told him there were no houses worth that much in their area and that he was just there to “pull wool over our eyes”. They then stormed the stage and seized the microphone from him.

MMC Sun was accompanied by Cllr Julia Kubu of Ward 133, Cllr Yoliswa Twala of Ward 77, Cllr Stephen Makamo of Ward 78 and Regional Director Abigail Ndlovu.

After grabbing the microphone from Sun, a representative of the group told the crowd that they had taken over the meeting from the City’s delegation. “The MMC and his executive are now going to sit down and listen to us,” he said.

But the meeting degenerated into chaos as freedom songs and chants drowned what the speaker was trying to say.

Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers quickly moved in to shield Cllr Sun and his delegation from the crowd.

DA members also formed a buffer between the people purporting to be ANC members and the City delegation.

Later members of the South African Police Service escorted Cllr Sun out of the hall to his car.