A Port Elizabeth businessman has made an impassioned plea to the city's politicians to fulfill the promises that they have made to the public with respect to the delivery of services.
Algoa Bus CEO, Sicelo Duze, was lamenting the loss of two buses which were torched by protesting communities in Standford Road in the city's Northern Areas on Tuesday morning and another one in Motherwell on Monday.
The seasoned businessman, whose buses have often borne the brunt during service delivery protests, says they are caught up in the crossfire.
Duze says it will cost around R1.8m rand per bus to replace the two that were destroyed these past two days.
"What we need to communicate to communities is that it becomes difficult to keep on sending buses to areas where the buses are torched. These demonstrations have nothing to do with Algoa Bus company, they have to do with service delivery".
In a strong message to politicians, Duze warned against making promises that are not fulfilled.
"Once you make a promise, that promise leads to expectation and that expectation leads to entitlement and that entitlement leads into violence. That is the situation that this company finds itself, not only this company but innocent travelers going to work," Duze said.
He said politicians need to be "responsible in what they say and what they promise".
Police said five people were arrested after the protests started on Monday.
Algoa FM News understands that it relates to the apparent non-payment of SMME's involved a municipal drain-cleaning project.
(Pic: PE Traffic Updates on Twitter)
