RESIDENTS from Social Distance Informal Settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town are gatvol of their kasi's WhatsApp group admin, who they accused of dictating rules.
During a meeting on Saturday 21 October, some community members said they are not happy and called the admin, Siwe Magalela, to order.
One of the residents, Sihle Mabusela (53) said Siwe must let people talk as they wish in the group.
"We want to speak about this issue here at the meeting. What admin Siwe is doing is not right because she is trying to impede our discussions. When we are busy discussing, she locks the group and only allows admins to send. We don't want that," said Sihle.
But makhulu Boniwe Dikiswa (57) said Siwe is doing a great job and residents must follow the rules.
"Siwe must keep maintaining order in the group. When we talk about things at a meeting, we cannot be dealing with the same matter in the WhatsApp group. If I have an issue, I talk about it here at the meeting and we expect everyone to do so," she said.
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Siwe said some people abuse the WhatsApp platform, which is meant to update the community about important things happening in the kasi. She said she will not allow people to be subjected to abuse on WhatsApp.
"We are subjected to long voice notes in the group. You sometimes find someone sending a 20-minute voice note. We do not have data for that because data is expensive. To deal with this issue, I simply lock the group then open it when people have cooled down," she said.
She added that residents sometimes miss out on important notices and updates because there are people debating in the group.
Bongile Baba, chairman of the residents' committee in the area, said he is aware of the matter.
He said Siwe has the right to maintain order in the group as admin if it is in the best interest of residents.
