By Nangamso Mabindla
16 November 2004

ABOUT 3 000 South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) members brought Oxford Street to a standstill as they marched to the East London City Hall to hand over a memorandum to the Buffalo City municipality.

According to Sanco vice-chairperson of the East London sub-region, Sicelo Yekiso, the march, on Tuesday, November 16, was to get the attention of the municipality. Sanco, he says, wants to improve relations between itself and the municipality.

A memorandum was handed over to the municipality's Chief of Staff in the mayor's office, Siphatho Handi.

"Ever since the local government elections in 2000, we've not had a strong relationship with the municipality," Yekiso said, adding: "We've made numerous attempts to interact with the municipality, but to no avail."

According to Yekiso, the protest action was "a last resort".

The memorandum outlined areas of concern, including housing problems in Cambridge location, Braelyn Extension 10, Reeston and other areas, giving the municipality 14 days in which to respond.

The march, however, was not just about grievances but also to find ways in which Sanco and the municipality could work together to deliver basic services. "We'd like the municipality to recognise Sanco as a key stakeholder in the development of Buffalo City," said Yekiso.

If Sanco became a key stakeholder, the organisation would be able to participate in the IDP review process and in development initiatives like the IDZ and the Beachfront Development.

Accepting the document on behalf of the mayor, Handi said the municipality would discuss the issues raised.

He added a mayoral task team would look at the memorandum as a matter of urgency. "But we're also happy that our people have exercised their democratic right and made their concerns known to us," said Handi.

According to Handi the municipality would be in a better position to improve service delivery when it was aware of the people's concerns.

Sanco also sent the memorandum to Eastern Cape Premier, Nosimo Balindlela, and to President Thabo Mbeki.