Zuma to address Vuwani locals

The pro-Makhado demarcation task team in the troubled area of Vuwani, Limpopo, says it only expects to hear positive news from President Jacob Zuma who is due to address residents on Sunday.

Zuma met with Vha-Venda King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana this week to discuss the ongoing total shutdown of services protest action in the area.

Children have been barred from going to school for nearly a month now by protesters who have been demanding that a decision by the Municipal Demarcation Board, to merge Vuwani with Malamulele and other surrounding villages to form a new municipality, be reversed.

Businesses such as shops and taxis have also been prevented from operating on weekdays. Sunday’s address to the public by Zuma would be his first since the protests started there in recent years.

During last year’s protest action, nearly 30 schools were either set alight or damaged. In recent weeks, two people lost their lives after the vehicle they were travelling in, crashed into a pipe that was used to barricade one of the roads.

Speaking to The Citizen yesterday, spokesperson for the task team, Nsovo Sambo, said they are hoping that the president will present solutions to their concerns.

“We also hope that the people he met with this week, put the interests of the people first,” he said. Sambo confirmed that a march to the Vhembe district municipality, which was planned for today, had been called off, adding that they will now wait to hear what the president has to say on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Limpopo provincial spokesperson Phuti Seloba confirmed Sunday’s address to the community by Zuma.

“This follows a report from an inter-ministerial committee. The president will on Sunday provide feedback on him meeting with the king,” Seloba said.

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