Buildings torched in Mossel Bay unrest

A SCHOOL and municipal housing office were set alight as Mossel Bay residents embarked on a second day of violent service delivery protests yesterday.

Thick smoke has been hanging over the KwaNonqaba township since Sunday as hundreds of residents burnt tyres and vandalised buildings in protest over housing woes and the removal of illegal electricity connections.

At least 13 people were arrested after a large group of protesters destroyed traffic lights along Louis Fourie Road and Mayixhale Street. They also pelted vehicles travelling on the N2 near the Dana Bay turnoff with rocks.

Police dispersed the crowd by firing rubber bullets and teargas on Sunday, but the protests flared up again yesterday morning.

Municipal spokesman Harry Hill said the Garden Route Primary School in Adriaans Drive had been set alight and the municipal housing office burnt down.

"Since protests started on Sunday, we have not yet received any communication from the community as to what exactly the action is about," Hill said.

He believed the protests were politically motivated. Ward 13 in Mossel Bay is set to be contested in a by- election tomorrow. "We are trying to get the municipality and community leaders to discuss the issues."

At this stage the protest is taking place on the outskirts of town, but Hill said there had been threats that the protesters would move through town towards the main municipal offices in Marsh Street.

Police, including the George public order unit, had been on alert since Sunday and warned residents to steer clear of the area. - Yolande Stander