South Africa: Separate protests block tourist spot near Mandela’s old home, disrupt Cape Town
JOHANNESBURG (AP) _ Protesters in South Africa have blocked off the road leading to the Soweto home of the late Nelson Mandela, in a demonstration against electricity bills.
Police said residents on Wednesday burned tires and piled rocks across the streets of a Soweto neighbourhood, once home to Mandela and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, and now a popular tourist spot in Johannesburg.
Residents’ representative Faith Vanqa said they were protesting the power utility’s billing system change from a monthly reading to a prepaid meter.
In Cape Town, hundreds of striking municipal workers trashed the city’s streets. The South African Municipal Workers Union said in a statement that they were demanding better wages and maternity benefits for firefighters among other things
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
