SABIE – Protest actions have been put on hold for one week, pending the outcome of meetings between community leaders, the town’s mayor and other key role players. Yesterday morning, Lowvelder confirmed that the town’s businesses, schools and hospital were functioning after being closed for almost a week due to protests.
Chaos erupted last Tuesday morning when protesters set a truck carrying a load of wood on fire.According to a resident who does not want to be named, the residents of Sabie who refused to take part in the strike were threatened with violence. “We were ordered to keep our businesses closed. Nobody could drive in the town’s streets. We were too terrified to leave our homes.”
Between Tuesday and Sunday, prospective visitors and other commuters were advised not to enter the town as the protests kept flaring up.
Read more on last week’s protests in Sabie.
On Saturday, the Department of Health temporarily closed Sabie Hospital. Spokesman Mr Dumisani Malamule said that this was done to protect the patients and medical staff at the hospital. “If medical staff are unable to access the hospital the patients will not get any assistance,” he said. He added that patients had been taken to various other hospitals in the province and they were receiving the necessary medical help.
Read more on the Sabie hospital closing down this weekend.
Mr Dumisani Makamu spoke on behalf of the protesters. “In September 2015, we protested about some issues such as water end electricity supply and the shortage of land. Not all of them have been resolved, which is why we are doing it again now,” he said last week.
Read more on th September protests here.
Thaba Chweu Municipality (TCM) spokesman, Mr Phuleng Mapheto, also referred to the September strikes in a media statement released yesterday.
He said that, following those protests, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the municipality and community representatives. “Many of the issues in the MOU were addressed. Some of them were of long-term nature and needed planning and implementation plans (sic).”
These plans included meetings between TCM, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Gogta) and delegates from the Department of Human Settlements and the Sabie Chamber of Commerce. According to Mapheto, these role players were tasked with solving the problems. He added that talks between the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency and the Department of Human Settlements were also underway.
However, the community felt that the municipality was taking too long to provide them with electricity and land, or at least set a deadline on when this would be done. “For someone like me, who has been living without a legal electricity connection for 21 years, a promise is not enough. They must stop talking and give us something concrete,” he demanded.
He said that the protests would not stop until either premier, Mr David Mabuza, or the town’s municipal manager addressed the community.
On Thursday a meeting was held where feedback from TCM mayor, Ms Selina Mashigo, was presented to members of the community. Maphetu confirmed that protest leaders, Mr Paul Mokgotsonyane and Carro Nyathi, did not attend the meeting. They did, however, send representatives. During this meeting, a document signed by municipal manager, Mr Lesley Mokwena, was presented to the community members.
Although the document was intended to satisfy the protesters’ demands, Makamu explained that the signature on the document was not to the protesters’ liking. “It doesn’t look completely right,” he said. “We want a guarantee that our demands will be met. If it can’t be done now, we want a date when it will be done. We want it in black and white. With the municipal manager’s signature.”
While this week may be peaceful, the residents of Sabie fear that violence may force the town to its knees again next week. “Community meetings will continue during this week. We will know after the weekend,” said Makamu.
