KZN Premier calls for calm after trucks unrest at Mariannhill Toll Plaza
Last year, at the height of truck torchings, Zikalala established a task team made up of truck owners, member of the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), government officials and other stakeholders.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle ZIkalala, is set to meet with a number of stakeholders in the trucking industry following another event of trucks being burnt in Durban.
A number of trucks have been torched in the past couple of weeks along the N3 Mariannhill Toll Plaza with Monday’s protest in the same area raising fears of future incidents.
The protesters joined the anti-foreign protest in Durban where they called for foreigners to go back to their home countries and delivered an ultimatum that said “no truck with a South African registration should enter the harbour or driven by a foreign national from the 1st of December 2020”
ALSO READ: Safety tips: Hillcrest SAPS urges motorists to stay safe during violent protests
In a statement, Zikalala appealed for calm and peace. Last year, at the height of truck torchings, Zikalala established a task team made up of truck owners, member of the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), government officials and other stakeholders.
The task team was supposed to present a progress report but due to the Covid-19 pandemic stopped meeting.
“We will continue to engage all the relevant role players and work within the law to negotiate solutions meant to resolve current conflict, and in the long-term stabilize the industry within the ambit of the country’s Constitution. We must however reiterate that we will not allow lawlessness to threaten our economy, more so as we emerge from the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Zikalala
“We thus call on those who have grievances to work with us and not to shut down our roads, torch trucks or even resort to attacking truck drivers as has happened before. Where these violations take place we expect the justice crime prevention and security cluster of government to respond decisively to maintain peace and order by dealing with criminality and unlawful activities in the province.”
Zikalala said the matter has been escalated to national government.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of publication, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
