SAPS furious over KDM march

Umhlali SAPS are furious with the KwaDukuza municipality about their march against the abuse of municipal workers through Ballito on Friday, which gridlocked traffic and turned a “peaceful act of solidarity” into an illegal demonstration.

Hundreds of commuters were caught up in the enormous traffic jam caused by workers blocking traffic lanes, which resulted in people missing appointments, flights and paramedics battled to reach a woman in need of medical attention.

The march was the result of KDM’s senior finance clerk Sharron Pitt being reportedly slapped by a Ballito resident two weeks ago over a disagreement about his electricity bill.

The man was upset about a letter claiming his bill had not been paid. Pitt apparently told him that the municipality had changed banks and an argument started.

When the man allegedly slapped her, municipal staff and security were called to restrain and remove the man who, according to Pitt, acted like an “angry animal”.

The incident landed Pitt, in her late 50s, in Victoria hospital. She said she was still shaken by the experience.

“People need to realise that we are human too. I admit that when someone screams at me sometimes I do get frustrated and raise my voice.

“This is the first time things got violent. Before people argue with municipal workers, they should realise that we are not the policy makers. We are just doing our jobs,” she said.

A charge of common assault is being investigated by Umhlali police.

In another case two years ago, KDM Ballito meter reader Xolani Mkhize was held at gun-point by a resident and in another incident, he was reportedly intentionally set on by dogs while carrying out his normal duties.

Outraged by the alleged abuse, KwaDukuza mayor Ricardo Mthembu called a march against abuse of municipal staff.

The protest resulted in about 200 municipal workers marching, singing, dancing and blocking traffic all the way from Sandra Road to the Ballito Lifestyle intersection where a memorandum was handed to SAPS encouraging them to take action against people who abuse municipal staff.

Traffic gridlocked the area

The demonstration gridlocked the area for at least an hour.

Speaking to The Courier, Umhlali SAPS captain Yogendranath Maharajh accused the municipality of lack of common courtesy when planning the demonstration.

“Normally the municipality would have what we call a Section 4 meeting with the police to inform us about any planned march.

“We would use this platform to raise objections. This march was only brought to our attention on the day it took place. They did not produce any documents with the route or the times.”

Maharajh said the municipality betrayed the police’s trust and abused their relationship.

Municipal workers were sitting and lying across the roads, blocking traffic.

They marched on both lanes of the road when they could and should have used one, then closed the Lifestyle intersection so nobody could leave or enter Ballito.

“There were people who sat in the traffic who were seriously inconvenienced.

There was a man who missed his flight, there were parents whose children were waiting outside their homes.

In one case a woman’s blood pressure dropped dramatically. The lady was driving an automatic car and was clearly disorientated.

She kept bumping the car in front of her. When we eventually managed to get her out of her car we realised what was wrong.

Even paramedics had trouble getting through traffic, which is a serious matter,” he said.

Maharajh said normally protesters would have been moved off the street and arrested. But this was not done because it would have escalated the situation.

“The moment the staff started to block the roads and disrupt the everyday lives of the public, is the moment the march turned into an illegal demonstration according to the National Road Traffic Act,” he said.

While some residents expressed support for the march, others expressed frustration over poor service delivery and dealing with municipal staff.

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