Rocklands farmers are up in arms over the state of their roads and in a desperate bid to get municipal services plan a full-scale protest.
Add to this other unresolved issues, and a perfect storm for a major upheaval is on the cards as road accidents reportedly pile up.
Residents say the bare, cracked roads and a lack of signage pose a risk to pedestrians and road users.
Their desperate bid to communicate a laundry list of concerns, directed as far as the presidency, was written on Sunday.
The mayor’s office, transport department and police were not spared either, after the convener of the proposed protest listed their demands in a strongly worded email.
They include a request to put up traffic warning signs, erect a speed bump in front of Ankervas Primary School and reroute heavy vehicles, and if not met within two weeks, will see Rocklands, Withoogte and surrounding farm communities brought to a standstill.
“We, the farmers of Rocklands, [intend] closing the Rocklands Road from Withoogte, the road in front of the Boerevereniging, and the road next to St Albans prison,” the email sent on Sunday stated.
“However, no violence or weapons will be allowed.
“It’s a formidable closure by the farmers.”
Marie Swanepoel, a farmer of 22 years, said farmers planned to block the entrances leading into the farming area using heavy vehicles.
She said an unmanned, dysfunctional satellite police station, among other things, heightened residents’ gripes and spurred them into considering mass action.
The Herald reported in August 2022 that the community had offered to repair the police station and wanted police to confirm that it would be manned once it was operational.
However, the structure remains an empty shell four years later.
The area falls under the watch of the Kabega police station.
“We promised that if they opened the police station, we would set up our security group to work alongside the police,” Swanepoel said after a community meeting on August 24.
“We’ve been told interventions have not been made since 2022 because the structure is apparently unsafe.
“Constant follow-ups have been ignored; no-one bothered to provide any sort of response.”
Swanepoel said roads had simply been patched and not tarred, ensuring the deplorable state of the infrastructure remained constant.
“But they simply patch them up. There are no real repairs being undertaken.
“Perhaps they should remove the tar and leave us the gravel roads to look after ourselves,” she said.
Rocklands has been plagued by ongoing issues, such as livestock theft.
A planning session behind closed doors with former mayor Eugene Johnson at City Hall on August 4 2022 followed a tense community meeting at Ankervas.
There were persistent outages lasting several days when protesting informal settlement dwellers near Rocklands Road damaged vital electricity infrastructure.
“There are so many issues, worsened by the poor state of the roads and the lack of walkways for pedestrians, who in most cases walk up and down the road when under the influence,” farmer Kevin Curtain said.
“A further issue for us is two scrapyards which have cropped up in the last few months and contribute to increasing crime levels.
“While they might have licences from the police, they’re [allegedly] non-compliant with rezoning requirements.
“Since they are now operating on agricultural land and not just industrial, the properties need to be rezoned.”
DA Ward 40 councillor Jason Grobbelaar said he had sent a request to a road engineer for the rebuilding of Rocklands and Mission roads, Seaview Road from Cape and Altona roads, and the R334 and St Albans Road.
“The engineer submitted a request to [the provincial transport department] in Bhisho and awaits funding.
“The roads are beyond their lifespan and need to be rebuilt,” Grobbelaar said.
On the claims about the illegal scrapyards, he said: “Safety and security is a function of the police and they are aware of the concerns raised.
“A query was also submitted to the municipality to investigate if the scrapyard has the required zoning and land use management permissions. This is still in process.”
Grobbelaar said he had since written to Swanepoel and asked for liaison with the police before any road closures to ensure a safe and legal protest.
Bay mayor Gary van Niekerk said he was open to hosting an engagement between his office and the farming community.
Roads and transport political head Bradley Murray did not respond to a request for comment, saying he was stuck in a community engagement.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said farmers in the Rocklands area held a general meeting on August 24.
“The agenda was general and a range of concerns was highlighted such as roads.
“Residents did touch on crime as well. They speculated that crime in the area was high due to a new scrap dealer in the area.
“Police refuted these claims as they were in possession of the reported crime statistics for that area.
“There were no promises made by the police.”
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