We Care 4 Nelspruit and the Ndlovu Group ensured that Mbombela welcomed visitors, who are attending the South Africa vs New Zealand game on Saturday, to a clean town after municipal employees had embarked on an illegal protest, barricading some of the CBD streets with refuse.

According to TJ Maré of We Care 4 Nelspruit, they were not going to allow the residents to spend a night in a dirty city or to receive visitors in a filthy town.

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“We were not going to wait until the next day to keep the city clean when we already have visitors in town, and we are still going to receive more tomorrow. So, our team, with the Ndlovu Group, which came with the bins, front loader and trucks to assist us, removed the refuse off the roads.” he said.

Meanwhile, the City of Mbombela issued a statement regarding the incident. It is aware of the situation and inconvenience caused by unsavoury actions that were tantamount to an illegal strike by the City’s employees, especially in Mbombela and the Barberton CBD.

“The Office of the City Manager has since issued an ultimatum to those employees who participated in these acts to return to work as these actions constitute an illegal strike. “The City will implement consequence management against those found in contravention of the law, and requests anyone with information to contact the City or law enforcement agencies,” read the statement.

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It also stated that the City remains committed and will make all efforts to ensure that visitors are safe and that the Springboks vs All Blacks match will proceed unhindered.

“It is in the City’s best interest that we deliver a memorable experience to South Africa and the City of Mbombela community as we have done so with many events before. We are, and will continue to be, the ultimate destination for any event imaginable,” concluded the statement.