KANYAMAZANE – Everything came to a standstill Wednesday morning when hundreds of protesting community members barricaded all entrance and exit points leading to this busiest and historic township. Commuters and motorists trying to make their way to work were left stranded as there was no way out. Many had to go back home as there were no taxis and buses available.
To make matters worse, the strikers hijacked two freight trucks, which were used to block the N4 leading to Malalane and Mbombela. By midday there were no vehicles crossing the N4 to and from Malelane and Mbombela. The community members who participated in this strike said they only wanted to be addressed by the premier, Mr David Mabuza and the Mbombela executive mayor, Cllr Sibusiso Mathonsi. They accused the local council of awarding a multimillion rand tender to an outside company, which according to them, failed to include locals to benefit from the project.
“The main contractor and the council did not even bother to call a community meeting to inform us of such a project. We are of the view that every project that is going to be done here must also benefit the local people, especially the youth.
“In this case not even a single person benefited from the construction of the road which is currently under way,” said one member of the KaNyamazane Community Forum.
This forum claimed to have had several meetings with the local council where it raised its concerns over the said tender, but no amicable understanding could be reached, hence the protest action.
“During the apartheid era this was the only language the government listened to and we are determined to continue with the strike until next year. This will be the order of the day for the next few days until we are heard. We want to right the wrongs that are happening here,” said the forum member. The tender in question is said to be worth over R280 million.
A local clergy, Rev Luke Dlamini, who is also the ecumenical secretary of the South African Council of Churches said, “Violence is not a solution and destroying of property cannot solve our problems. My appeal to community leaders and those involved is that there are many ways of solving conflict, we wish they can come together, find relevant channels and deal with differences in an organised way. Differences over tenders should not affect community development. We call on all involved to amicably deal with differences to avoid unnecessary headaches and chaos in our townships.”
Some members of the working class said the closure of the main entrance and exit points had affected them negatively as they could lose their jobs for not going to work.
A reliable member of the community also speculated that the community was now divided into three groups over the issue as some demanded to be subcontractors in the project, the jobless wanted to be employed in the project and the third group did not support the construction of this road at all because they feared they might lose their houses without getting compensation. Their homes are built along the road that has to be constructed.
Comments from the local council and the premier’s office could not be sourced at the time of going to press.
