LIMPOPO – A peaceful protest turned violent last Monday morning when police allegedly shot and wounded a man and assaulted and arrested a woman at the Kremetart Gate in Giyani.

The protest was sparked by allegations of corruption in a development project currently underway in Ward 21.

The Department of Cooperative Government, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) is involved in a project to establish a new settlement in Giyani town called Giyani H, which stretches from the “Welcome to Giyani” area near Kremetart and extends toward an area known as E-Moyeni, towards Ngove village.

The project, which is said to cost around R500 million, is currently installing a bulk water pipeline on the site in preparation for the upcoming development. The problem began when the original Project Steering Committee (PSC), which had been in place since January this year, was dismissed via SMS after just five months on the job.

The community reportedly approached the Greater Giyani Municipality (GGM) for clarity, and when they received no assistance, they turned to CoGHSTA and the Office of the Premier. It was only after these efforts failed that they resorted to protest in an attempt to force the government to listen to them.

During their protest, the police apparently arrived and shot at them, wounding one person in the leg. This infuriated the community even more, accusing the police of firing live bullets at the crowd.

“We want the premier to know that here in Giyani, we have police officers behaving like criminals.

“They shot two people for no apparent reason; their only crime was barricading the road,” said Steven Maringa, the chairperson of the concerned group.

“We want those responsible to be held accountable and removed from their positions,” he went on, blasting the ANC government for allowing the police to be rude at what they call a peaceful protest.

“The ANC is the majority party in this province, but if it allows the police to intimidate people by shooting them, then we are clearly under the wrong kind of government,” he said.

Meanwhile, the police denied using live ammunition against the protesters. Responding to the allegations, Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said that although live bullets were not used, the matter would be investigated to establish the circumstances that led to the shooting.

“According to our information, a man was shot with a rubber bullet and taken to Nkhensani Hospital in Giyani. It is alleged that the incident occurred while he was barricading the road, and the police were in the process of dispersing the crowd,” he said.

Meanwhile, the protesters eventually calmed down and proceeded to the project site to deliver their memorandum. Among their demands is the immediate suspension of the project and the reinstatement of the original Project Steering Committee (PSC). They are also calling for the premier’s intervention.

Additionally, they demand the removal of unintended beneficiaries, specifically Wards 10 and 26, which they claim were not part of the project’s original scope. They also want the project site relocated to Kremetart, where it was originally intended to be hosted.

“That location does not require monthly rent. We do not understand why the office was moved to a site where it pays rent when we had a free site in Kremetart. We believe someone is personally benefitting from the current arrangement, and we want to help the government save money,” said Maringa during the handing over of the memorandum to the premier’s representative, Emanuel Moletji.

“The project was initially intended to benefit the communities of Kremetart, Dzingidzingi, and Ngove. However, Kremetart and Dzingidzingi have since been removed, leaving only Ngove as a beneficiary,” added Maringa, criticising the Giyani Municipality for failing to respond when the issue was brought to their attention.

“We are here today because of the incompetence of the municipality; it couldn’t handle the situation before it got out of hand,” he said.

In response, Moletji said the issue of PSC was something that was handled by the local municipalities, insinuating that the matter shouldn’t have reached their offices.

“The reason we have ward councillors and ward committees is that they spend more time with you as residents of a municipality or village. The Office of the Premier or CoGHSTA cannot come here to implement a project and appoint people you don’t know. The premier has representatives in the form of local government and municipalities whose responsibility is to listen to our needs,” he continued, saying he would personally take the memorandum to the premier so that she could convene a meeting with the community to understand the matter.

When asked about the way forward regarding the matter, GGM spokesperson Steve Mavunda said the municipality would await the directive from CoGHSTA as the matter was complex and required several stakeholders.

“We have seen the memorandum and are currently awaiting a directive from the office of CoGHSTA on how to act on the matter, as the situation is complex and requires the involvement of the municipality, CoGHSTA, and several stakeholders,” he said.