With the exception of lights and water, all other services such as waste collection, refuse removal and grass-cutting has been halted for almost a month now and municipal offices remain closed.

The strike by about 40 municipal workers started off violently two weeks ago.

“At least four striking municipal workers were arrested and charged for malicious damage to property. This was after they allegedly intimidated and attacked co-workers inside the building who refused to participate in the strike. Doors and windows were broken and the building sustained damages,” Constable Kwapa Macdonald of the Belfast SAPS stated this week.

“Since then it’s been relatively calm and we are aware of reports that the strikers are thrashing the towns streets. We are monitoring the situation daily”.

Meanwhile, in the towns of Machadodorp and Waterval Boven, which also falls under Emakhazeni Municipality, streets were thrashed and there was reports of sabotage to water pipelines and the electricity network.

According to some reports municipal employees have downed tools and embarked on an illegal strike over a lack of protective clothing.

This has been neither confirmed nor denied by the Executive Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Hamzer Ngwenya, who last week stated that alternate manpower is being used to respond to immediate issues such as a sewerage block at a residential area in Waterval Boven.

He was unable to say how soon the matter between the municipality and workers would be resolved.

The following are some posts on the Emakhazeni Facebook Page by residents of Belfast:

• Dewald de Klerk – Belfast is a mess, rubbish dumped again all over town what are you doing regarding the strike? Our town looks disgusting and you can’t even drive on the roads anymore with all the potholes. Everything looks dirty and run down what tourist would want to visit our town? Come on Emakhazeni were is your pride, get your act together you are letting everybody down.

• Frank Canova – Have just returned from Middelburg, and was pleased to see that most of the election posters are being taken down. Can you please inform me, as to what the municipal by-laws say in regard to the removal of posters in Belfast. As far as I am aware, they have to be removed within a certain time limit by the party that placed them, other wise a fine is imposed and the municipality removes them. Please clarify this matter.

• Gustav Janse van Rensburg – Do you know that the main road in Waterval Boven has just been littered with all the bags that were lying in the main road – the people are revolting! Can’t blame them…