Lowveld experiences three large protests

The Lowveld was marred with protests this week as people with various issues took to the streets to voice their grievances.

Disgruntled members of the Mpumalanga ANC marched to the provincial offices last Friday (August 27) demanding that the party’s national executive committee disband the current provincial executive committee (PEC).

This is because the members are accusing the PEC of causing division by allegedly manipulating the councillor candidate list as the ANC recently concluded its submission of names to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).

The party’s acting provincial secretary, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, said members of the PEC do not mind stepping down; they are simply waiting for the elective conference that was postponed due to Covid-19 regulations.

She added that it appears as if every time during elections there is violence. Ntshalintshali dismissed the allegations made against the committee manipulating the list.

“The list we have is their own product because each branch runs its own affairs. Some of them were not ready to submit the list and we still gave them a chance to do so.

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“The march to the provincial offices was due to some of their own regional squabbles and a fake list that was linked,” she explained.

Two ANC members were shot dead and another injured following an ambush by gunmen in Mbombela on Sunday August 22.

In another protest earlier this week, members of the New Cairn Community Trust closed off the Cairn Road in the early hours of Monday following the alleged advertising of land belonging to the community without the knowledge or permission of the trust.

The informal road closure ended at around 12:40 on Tuesday after community leader of the New Cairn Community Trust, Stephan Nyasenga, met with an official of the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs.

“We went to the bid office to look at maps of the land from 1997 and saw that portion 89, 88 and 87 are in the trust’s name, but people have crossed some of our boundaries. We were advised by the department to find out who the land surveyor is and get him to confirm if anything has changed with regard to land boundaries,” said Nyasenga.

“It appears that portion 88 has been put on the market, but the land is registered in our name.”
The community hopes to have more information on the matter and the people involved soon.

In another incident on Monday, protest action erupted at around 18:30 at the Montrose and Kaapsehoop intersections.
This resulted in the road being closed throughout the night and only being reopened just before noon on Tuesday.
Motorists were forced to use Schoemanskloof as an alternative route.

Solange Soares, the spokesperson for TRAC, said the police engaged with the community during Monday night. “The unrest experienced at Elandshoek was related to a road construction contract starting in the area in due course. However, the matter has since been resolved following engagement with all relevant stakeholders.”