SAPS Nigel disperse angered protestors at Vopak
a Shooting incident at the Vopak petroleum terminal construction site at Jameson Park on July 4, has left a 30-year old man with a bullet wound to the foot.
SAPS Nigel spokesperson Sgt Nellie Dwaba confirmed that a case of attempted murder was opened and that police confiscated a 9mm pistol from a security guard on site. The incident occurred when scores of disgruntled unemployed residents from the surrounding area participated in an illegal march. Armed with knobkieries and iron bars, the increasingly violent crowd later arrived at the construction site where they reportedly blocked the entrance and demanded employment.
“Tensions escalated and the situation became volatile when a security guard allegedly fired a warning shot into the air. One of the protesters used his foot to prevent the gate from closing and the security guard fired another shot into the ground, but the bullet penetrated the man’s foot. He was later transported to Heidelberg Hospital and discharged the same day,” Sgt Dwaba said.
This follows months of discontent, as unemployed residents claim that skilled and semi-skilled workers from the area are overlooked in the procurement process. During a peaceful march to the construction site on February 6, members of the Jameson Park Unemployment Forum handed over a memorandum of grievances to Muteo Consulting operations director Jonathan Moodley for consideration.
At the time, HERAUT learned that Reatile partnered with Vopak in 2015 to develop a number of new petroleum storage terminals across the country, which also includes a fuel storage terminal in Jameson Park adjacent to the end point of the new Transnet multi-purpose fuel pipeline from Durban. The contract was awarded to Muteo Consulting and according to a local resident (who had asked to remain anonymous) the company failed to follow the required recruitment procedures in terms of the contract that was awarded to them.
Following the peaceful march of February 6, both parties entered into negotiations whereafter management reportedly agreed to resolve some of the procurement discrepancies. Moodley, in the presence of his public liaison officer Tashrique Shabudin, further negotiated that the company will provide employment to a number of people from the local community within weeks.
June 22 however, marked another day of protest and members of the Police were once again called to disperse of protesters who were displaying their disappointment and anger towards the contractor by blocking construction vehicles from entering or leaving the site. By July 4, the situation escalated to boiling point and nearly ended in tragedy when a security guard fired shots into the ground to prevent protesters from blocking the entrance gate.
Despite numerous attempts, Muteo Consulting has not formally responded to any of HERAUT’s enquiries and it remains unclear what the future holds for the unemployed people of Jameson Park.
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