Eastern Cape Premier Phumullo Musualle has spoken out about the ongoing service delivery protests at Keiskammahoek that has seen the damage of government property since the beginning of the week.
While addressing the media in Bhisho on Tuesday, Musualle highlighted that roads, schools, human settlements and scholar transport were some of the key grievances of the community.
He said to date, R30 million has been committed by Government to refurbish the hospital in that community and that the municipality has begun working on the road between Keiskammahoek and Stutterheim.
Musualle condemned the destruction of property at Keiskammahoek and said his leadership had been ready to address communities in the area.
A government building was torched in Keiskammahoek on Tuesday afternoon - the extent of the damage has yet to be determined.
Meanwhile: DA Eastern Cape provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga reports that close to a thousand residents of Grahamstown gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday to voice their concerns about the bad state of roads, filth around town and the general decay of service delivery.
Bhanga says the Acting Municipal Manager and Speaker were on hand to listen to these concerned residents but that the protest then escalated to Grahamstown Extension 7 where the looting of shops took place..
Police spokesperson, Captain Mali Govender said it appeared that looters were targeting shops owned by foreign nationals.
She said approximately 200 taxis and private vehicles and some 500 protesters had made their way into town.
Incidents of looting were later reported in Extension 4,6,7,8 and 10.
Captain Govender said Hi Tec Security along with detectives and specialized units were assisting in preventing further looting in Joza Location, Grahamstown, where shop owners were seen moving their goods to safety.
The campus of Midlands College in Grahamstown was also closed as protesters burnt tyres outside and blockaded the road.
There's also a heavy police presence in Mthatha after more than a hundred taxi's blockaded the road between Mthatha and the Madeira police station in the suburb of Norwood.
Eyewitness reports indicate that the town has been brought to a standstill and that opportunistic looting of several shops has taken place.
Several gunshots were heard and people were sent home from work early.
A number of taxis appear to have been abandoned on the road side.
Captain Govender said police were trying to remove and impound the abandoned taxis.
On the 28th of March, police minister Bheki Cele announced the closure of several taxi routes in the Mthatha area because of on-going taxi violence.
He was back in Mthatha for a meeting with rival taxi associations last week after they advised him that they had resolved their differences.
Tuesday's disruptions by taxi operators would appear to indicate otherwise.
