City of Johannesburg believes politics is behind the Alex shutdown
City of Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Safety, Micheal Sun, says the Alexandra shut down could be politically motivated.
Community members of Alexandra in the north of Johannesburg took to the streets from early on Wednesday morning to protest against poor service delivery.
The residents are accusing Johannesburg authorities of failing to prevent the construction of illegal structures in the township.
Community members have vowed to continue with the shut down until their grievances are heard.
Sun says he has seen some political parties released media statements immediately after the first protests in Alexandra.
"We are very concerned about the protest, there are allegations that the protest comes as a result of the dissatisfaction of service delivery in Alexandra.
"However, what we are more concerned, is the intention behind the protest. What we have seen, is that there has been political statement being released by political parties immediately after the announcement of the shutdown.
"We see things as a politically motivated event, certainly the protesters in their numbers don't represent the entire Alexandra township," Sun said.
The MMC confirmed that he will be making his way to Alexandra on Wednesday to get a clearer picture of the community's grievances.
Johannesburg Metro police officials are monitoring the situation.