Angry and disgruntled residents of Matiwaneskop, near Elandslaagte, staged a protest along the N11 on Tuesday morning. Community members, mostly from the ANC, engaged in what police have described as an illegal protest since Sunday in Matiwaneskop.
They blocked off roads leading into the area, burned tyres, cut down street poles and felled trees to block access to the area.
The angry residents claim they are sick and tired of unfair treatment and poor service delivery by the municipality.
“There seems to be a clear divide in the community, with certain people in Matiwaneskop being seen as more important than others who are simply ignored,” said a resident (who wishes to remain anonymous).
Describing service delivery in the area as a joke, they highlighted the obvious demarcation of the area.
“One side of Matiwaneskop has electricity and tar roads, while the other side has dirt roads and no power.”
Protesters held up placards demanding the removal of the ANC ward councillor Sindi Nxumalo (Nana) and ANC branch chairperson (Fox), with one poster proclaiming: “Nana and Fox must fall”.
Mayor Vincent Madlala was supposed to address the community on Monday, but sent officials instead. They attempted to speak to the crowd, but were chased away by the angry mob.
Chants of “the ward councillor must not serve us for another term, she has done nothing for us” were heard echoing among the crowd on Monday. On Tuesday morning, the community continued their protest, heading to the N11 near the Elandslaagte turn-off and demanding that their grievances be heard.
It is unclear at this stage if the protests have anything to do with the compiling of ANC election lists within the region. Last week saw branch and regional members sequestered from the public in the Town Hall. They were there to decide the new ANC area lists for the August 3 local government elections.
Elandslaagte police, backed up by members of the Ladysmith Tactical Response Team (TRT) and Newcastle Public Order Police (POP), were on scene to ensure there was no disruption to traffic along the N11 or any violence.
According to police spokesperson Captain Charmaine Struwig, the protesters never blocked the N11. They only blocked nearby rural roads.
Ladysmith municipal spokesperson Mr S Maphalala responded as follows: “Please note that Emnambithi/Ladysmith Municipality is currently investigating the exact root cause of all concerns raised by the community of Matiwaneskop.”
http://ladysmithgazette.co.za/59486/matiwaneskop-residents-barricade-roads/
