R571 road in Nkomazi closed due to protest at Sibayeni
People intending to travel to the Lebombo and Mananga ports of entry are affected

The communities of several villages under the late Chief Siboshwa Ngomane in Nkomazi have embarked on a protest that resulted in the closure of the R571 road this morning, Monday, January 20.
The residents demand that the provincial government rebuild Siboshwa High School which is said to be dilapidated as it was originally constructed in 1956.
The chairperson of Umbutho we Bahlali, Mxolisi Mabuza, told this publication that the community built the school with poles and mud in 1956.
He said Umbutho we Bahlali was a community organisation advocating for the development of the Nkomazi area.
“Our organisation holds the government accountable in terms of service delivery, jobs for our people, crime and everything that affects the community, as well as seeing to it that local businesses are empowered,” said Mabuza.
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“The community has embarked on a shutdown today. This is because the Department of Education has always taken us from pillar to post when we demanded that new school buildings be built at Siboshwa High School. The school was named after the late Chief Siboshwa Ngomane,” added Mabuza.
He said that demands for a new school dated back to 2019 when the provincial education department promised that it would soon be built because there was budget for that purpose.
Mabuza explained that the department, however, brought makeshift classes in the form of containers in 2020.
“The containers are now damaged as well. Drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless people and criminals are now utilising these containers for their own benefit. We demand that new buildings be erected immediately. Parents do not want their children to go anywhere near the current school unless a new one is built,” said Mabuza.

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Officials from the provincial Department of Education held a meeting with the SGB, parents and the leadership of Umbutho we Bahlali on Wednesday, January 15.
“The officials from the department made a few calls and postponed the meeting to Friday, January 17. In that second meeting the department arrived with some people claiming they were responsible for the infrastructure. We were then told that measurements were made at the school and the yard. We were told that the soil had been tested, but that there was no budget to build a new school,” said Mabuza.
“This thing of saying there was no budget after the education department had lied to us, saying there was budget, made residents very angry, hence there is a shutdown today,” added Mabuza.
The R571 main road passing via Sibayeni village was completely closed with rocks and other items this morning.
This has affected people who intended to travel to the Lebombo Port of Entry into Mozambique and the Mananga Port of Entry into Eswatini.
“Except for the destinations to the border gates, nobody can travel to Komatipoort, Dluluma, Mjejane, KaMaqhekeza and Tonga, nor to the local high schools,” said Mabuza.
This publication contacted the provincial education department for comment.
“We are currently waiting for a detailed report from the department that will indicate how it will intervene in the challenges faced by the community regarding the said school,” a statement read.