Furious Shawela residents barricade the road again

RESIDENTS of Shawela village in Giyani have resumed their protest action and barricaded the road that links Giyani and Phalaborwa to demand speed bumps on this road.

Residents also protested in this manner for the same reason in July.

In both protest actions the community demanded that speed humps be erected on the road to curb speeding motorists who threatened their lives and the lives of their livestock.

However, the first protest was later stopped by hosi Aaron Mahumani, who formed a task team to meet with the then roads and transport MEC.

According to the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) chairperson in the village, Benjamin Mabunda, the delegates at that meeting greed that speed bumps would be erected on the road as soon as possible.

He said the community understood this time frame to be before the end of July.

“They came and did some measurements where the speed bumps would be erected.

“We believe they will still come to finish up the job, therefore this protest is unnecessary,” he said, condemning those who had barricaded the road for a second time this year.

“We understand there might be some delays here and there.

“To barricade the road is not justified without first calling a meeting to find out how far negotiations are,” he continued, adding that the protest was orchestrated by a few individuals seeking to advance only their own interests.

Speaking to CV on condition of anonymity in the interest of his safety, one community leader said the revived protest was sparked by delays in government’s promise to erect the speed bumps.

“People are angry and want to see action.

“It hurts us to see people being killed on the road while government sits back with their hands folded,” he said.

He added that the protests would continue until government responded to their grievances.

Public works, roads and infrastructure spokesperson, Callies Matlala, said the department had not forgotten its promise.

He said the department had to wait for certain processes to be finalised before they could report to the residents.

“However, we will not erect speed bumps on the road as the community demands because it is a busy road.

“We will use other means to curb accidents and increase the visibility of traffic officers on the road to control speeding motorists,” he said, appealing to people to stop the protest.