Msholozi residents demand infrastructure
Tyres were burned and traffic was prohibited from exiting or entering the township.
They want a primary and secondary school and a clinic. These were the demands of Msholozi residents and the reason for the protest actions since Monday.
From early that morning they gathered in the access road near the four-way stop at Katoen. Tyres were burned and traffic was prohibited from exiting or entering the township.
Members of White River SAPS were present all the time and monitored the situation. Residents refused to go home and waited for officials to arrive.
Although they demanded to speak to the MEC for education, only a circuit manager arrived. A manager at the department of public works later also came and addressed the mob.
They were also unhappy because of the allegedly illegal sale of land belonging to this department.
They dispersed around 15:00 on Monday, but set an ultimatum to see the MEC within a day.
Monday’s protest did not interrupt traffic on the R40 between White River and Mbombela. On Tuesday morning, however, the road was closed for almost an hour during peak morning time. Protesters set tyres alight at the four-way stop and, at one stage, a bus parked across the road prohibited any thoroughfare. Traffic was rerouted via the Brondal Road or the Plaston-KMIA Road.
About 80 per cent of the residents of Msholozi are unemployed. The township started as an informal settlement more than six years ago.
The area still lacks basic service infrastructure such as roads, water, sewerage and electricity, as well as title deeds.
The land formerly belonged to the National Department of Public Works and was invaded by squatters while plans for an official township in the area were being established.
