Protest over dry taps halted for now

THE service protest that shut down KwaMsane township in Mtubatuba has been temporarily called off, but with the threat that it could resume if the government does not respond to demands.

The protest started on Sunday afternoon and was called off on Monday night after a meeting between community leaders and the Mtubatuba mayor, Israel Nyawo.

The community was protesting against the shortage of water. It had been without tap water for more that two months.

Residents also complained about an unreliable electricity supply and a dilapidated sewerage infrastructure.

The protesters temporarily closed the N2 and the roads going in and out of KwaMsane with burning tyres and rocks, and they burnt down a community hall.

“We closed the N2 on Sunday and on Monday. We achieved the impact and the attention we wanted,” said Malusi Myeni, the chairman of the ANC Youth League in the ward and one of the protest leaders. “We decided to temporarily call off the strike because we were having unintended consequences. There were people talking about destroying electricity substations. We cannot be destroying government infrastructure.”

Myeni said they would hold a meeting with the community yesterday afternoon, and apply for a permit to march. He warned that the reprieve was temporary and conditional on the government responding to their demands within seven days of the march.

“If they do not respond, it’s not a possibility that we might protest, but it’s a definite,” said Myeni.

The Umkhanyakude District mayor, Jeffrey Vilane, said the situation was calm, but the grievances raised had yet to be settled. He said water protests were spreading rapidly in the Umkhanyakude District.

“We are trying to resolve this crisis. What is happening is that the moment the source of water where the community was drawing dries up, they take to the streets,” said Vilane.

He said the provincial cabinet was going to be sitting in Hluhluwe tomorrow to formulate and unveil plans to tackle the drought, “and that will help us resolve some of these crises”.