Protesting residents of KwaZanele in Breyten met with the leadership of mines surrounding the town at the Tusong Centre on Wednesday, 2 May to discuss a way forward after a protest turned violent recently.
The locals protested on 17 April and demanded that the mines hire residents and do away with outsourcing.
They closed the entrance to one mining depot and blocked any vehicles passing through on the R36 road. The police had to disperse the crowd.
More violence occurred when protesters burned tyres, resulting in the Public Order Policing’s intervention.
The meeting between the two parties was held to resolve issues and residents tabled a list of demands that included among others:
• 80 per cent of employers should be local residents.
• Social labour plan.
• Social corporal investment.
• Mines should offer internships, learnerships and apprenticeships to local youths.
According to a resident, the talks remained at a deadlock and no resolution was taken to appease the protesting community.
“The mine managers could not conclusively agree to our terms, so we have to go back to the drawing board and take it from there,” he said.
The Breyten police are monitoring the situation.
