UPDATE: Huge turnout expected for Ballito Junction mall opening

Despite promising the Ballito Junction Regional mall’s management there would not be any disruptions, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has been given the green light by KwaDukuza council to stage mass protest action on the day of the opening this Thursday.

It is understood that the developers applied for a court interdict to stop the marchers from entering their private property.

However, they would not confirm or deny this. Umhlali SAPS spokesperson Vinny Pillay confirmed there will be more than 150 officers on duty on Thursday.

Despite the Junction’s positive contribution to the local economy and the 1 500 jobs that were earmarked for KwaDukuza residents, the ANCYL are unhappy with the “uneven distribution of economic freedom” and accused the mall’s recruitment process of being unfair to KwaDukuza youth.

Also read: ANCYL given green light to march on Junction opening

While SAPS traffic control struggle to find a way to manage the more than 5 000 cars expected to stream into Ballito on Thursday, KDM mayor Ricardo Mthembu said that although he is not in support of the march, it was not in his power or the municipality’s to stop the protest.

“There is a problem with unemployment in the region especially in the private sector. Black people are known to benefit mostly from government tenders but not from getting jobs from privately owned companies.

“For example, why use security companies from Durban when there are local security companies that are available?

“Why use cleaning services from Umhlanga when there are those services in KwaDukuza? These issues need to be addressed with the mall’s management.”

“However, it would have been better if the ANCYL set up a private meeting instead of having a protest. We can only stop a protest if the reasons do not make sense and this is not the case now,” he said.

At a press briefing last week, ANCYL regional secretary Musa Zondi said the mall was a reflection of white monopoly capital.

“The youth are being exploited and it is our responsibility to challenge the opening of the new mall.

“We are holding this march because of the injustice that still prevails in South Africa, we want economic freedom in our lifetime and this radical, historic mass action will take us one step closer. The ANCYL believes the economy should benefit the region as a whole, not just selected people.

“In this light, we are disturbed that the Junction seems to have broken their commitment to source labour locally – employing people from places like Umhlanga, Durban and Tongaat while the youth of KwaDukuza sit without jobs.”

Flanagan and Gerard Property Development and Investment co-chairman Peter Gerard told The Courier that the new mall had created thousands of local jobs.

“We used the local council facilitator to source employees, so I don’t know what they are talking about.”

The Ballito Junction regional mall will be the biggest and grandest mall on the Dolphin Coast. Spanning about 80 000 square metres, the R1.8 billion investment will be home to more than 200 stores.

With opening specials at Game, The Hub and Checkers, and other stores – it is expected to be a busy day.

With the expected amount of traffic, a march of any size could cause a huge traffic disruption.

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