Chaos on N3 was ‘sabotage’ – Blade Nzimande

A truckers’ blockade at the N3 Mooi River toll plaza was condemned as “tantamount to sabotage” by Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande after residents in the area hurled petrol bombs, causing several trucks to go up in flames, and looted vehicles.

“On an Easter Monday? On the N3, which possibly is the busiest highway? It’s something you need to think about carefully because when you do that, you increase the chances of accidents,” Nzimande said.

“We must condemn the actions of some of the community who were throwing petrol bombs. Some of these trucks carry highly flammable liquids and that could cause lots of problems. That kind of action, as much as we say we understand protests, we mustn’t protest in a manner that becomes sabotage.

“If you block the highways, it is tantamount to sabotage.”

The looters caused chaos when up to eight trucks, including a petrol tanker, went up in flames and delayed thousands of returning holidaymakers.

N3 Toll Concession spokesperson Con Roux said the truckers began their protest at about 4.30am yesterday, but it went pear-shaped when nearby communities spotted the stationary trucks. Up to eight trucks were believed to have been petrol-bombed in the aftermath of the protest.

Transport department spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said two issues occurred at the toll plaza.

“One, we had the truck drivers complaining about their companies hiring foreign drivers. They were protesting in the morning at the plaza to highlight their plight to try to get the authorities to do something about their issues,” Mnisi said.

“Then, while they were busy protesting, the communities took advantage of the trucks that were there, because most of them had cargo. The communities pounced on them, taking whatever was in the trucks.”

Screengrab of protesters looting a Spar food truck at Mooi River plaza. Video-supplied

Mnisi said that as it was a labour issue, the protest fell under the department of labour, which was unavailable for comment. The same applied to the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union.

How long the issue has been brewing, how long the department has known about the problem, whether there was a basis to their complaints and what was being done about it are all questions that remain unanswered.

Kevin Allen of Municipal IQ said the organisation’s municipal hotspots monitor recorded a huge drop in service delivery protests from January to February 2017 – when 173 were received – compared with the same time period this year (25).

“However, as the year continues, the number of protests will likely increase to a similar amount as previous years,” Allen told The Citizen.

After police moved in with rubber bullets and stun grenades yesterday, the highway was reopened at about 11.30am. Traffic flow was up to nearly 2 000 vehicles per hour through the Tugela Plaza towards Johannesburg.

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