Cape Town police disperse protesters ahead of Sona

Cape Town police dispersed a small group of protesters who had gathered at the corner of Darling and Corporation streets hoping to tell President Cyril Ramaphosa their grievances before the state of the nation address on Thursday evening.

The residents, some from the Cape Flats, had hoped to get a glimpse of Ramaphosa on the red carpet in front of the Cape Town city hall.

One of about 100 people, Ntombise Simelani, told TimesLIVE she wanted to plead with Ramaphosa for work.

“Tata, please help us with permanent employment. We are here because we were part of the Walking Bus project since 2016 on a voluntary basis. The new mayor wants to get rid of the project because there is no need for our services,” said Simelani.

She said she wanted her job back.

“We want the president to see how the mayor of Cape Town is treating us. We want permanent jobs because this is not a job you can stop.

“If I see the president I would tell him, ‘Tata, we are begging you, please try to get us employment’.

“We take the children to school and return them to their homes in the afternoon so they do not get run over by vehicles,” she said.

The community claimed they were told this service would be provided by law enforcement officers.

Selimi Voontjies said she hoped Ramaphosa would intervene by speaking to the new Cape Town mayor.

“We are crying out loud but they are not hearing us. We leave our homes at 4am to take children to school. Since we started there have been fewer children raped and murdered. We are mothers and grandmothers. We are willing to give up our lives for the children.”

Another resident told TimesLIVE she was told she needed to produce a qualification for the service.

“That’s wrong and we will not do that. We do not get a budget from his office. He does not care about us. He only cares about roads, water and houses.”

TimesLIVE