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Roads in Newtown closed due to protest

Residents in Newtown have barricaded roads in the area.

Angry residents staged a demonstration late last night and continued blocking major roads today (Monday).

Residents are demanding answers from the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality and have reportedly submitted a memorandum of demands to the local municipality and the Nkangala District Municipality, questioning the allocation of stands and RDP houses.

The residents claim that people who don’t have lease agreements and stands have already been allocated stands and houses in Mokokotlong, a newly developed township in Mhluzi, where the Department of Human Settlements is relocating informal dwellers from Newtown.

Residents still living in Newtown said the allocations are corrupt and they are demanding answers from the local government on the process.

They also want the rightful beneficiaries to be allocated homes and stands.

Some residents on a community WhatsApp group raised concerns for their children, who are writing June examinations, saying the roadblocks will prevent children from getting to school.

• Municipal spokesperson Lerato Kgomo said the municipality has responded to every individual mentioned in the petition included in the memorandum.

She added that municipal law enforcers, along with the police, are in the area and the rocks are being removed from the road.

“Should any resident require clarification, they are urged to submit a complaint to the records department in order to address each matter accordingly,” Kgomo said.

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Tiisetso Malunga

I have been working as a journalist/photographer since 2018 at the Middelburg Observer. Before joining Caxton I was a Journalism Student at the Tshwane University of Technology. I was also a broadcasting intern at the SABC in Pretoria. In my first year as a journalist I was awarded the Upcoming Journalist of the Year at the O H Frewin awards. My motto in life is ‘I am human before anything’ with that being said I am driven by human stories and I am a strong believer in justices and human rights.
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