VRYHEID: Municipality yet to respond to grievances following Bhekuzulu march

Simangaliso Zwane, who in 2018 led a protest in Bhekuzulu to hand over a list of grievances to the Municipality, says he is yet to receive a response.
The protest resulted in the arrest of three IFP leaders who tried to disrupt the march. The trio have appeared in Court where their case of attempted murder and assault was postponed to November.
The accused told the Vryheid Herald that they ‘suspect their case to be a political plot’.
However, Zwane, who himself is a former IFP member before joining the EFF, dismissed the plot allegations, saying:
“No one told them to come and beat up people. No one gave them guns to shoot. So how is this a political plot? They incited violence in Bhekuzulu and also organised a march on the same day they knew the community of Bhekuzulu was going to march. “They are claiming innocence, yet we have people who were injured and shot at on that day, some of whom are now living a difficult life due to the injuries they sustained that day.” Zwane added that they have given the municipality enough time to investigate the matters mentioned in the memorandum they submitted, and indicated that they have already started with engagements on how to move forward in ensuring that they receive a response from the municipality.

Also read: UPDATE (VIDEO): Two IFP councillors arrested following violent protests in Vryheid

“I have been asking people that we allow the municipality time to investigate. But a year later, they still have not responded. Therefore it’s fitting that we continue engaging with the community, as we have already started on how we are going to take our next step. The matters we raised there were genuine, and needed investigation and intervention. We have allowed them more than enough time to respond and take action where necessary,” he said. Some of the issues the community raised in their memorandum were that the Director of Corporate Services must be dismissed for her “reckless comment about township people and people living with HIV. People from Bhekuzulu were not being hired at the municipality based on perception of township life”. The memorandum also pointed out that people were appointed at the municipality on December 24 while the municipality was closed for the festive season; they demanded that this also be investigated. They further demanded an investigation into a tender for vehicles, where the vehicles were delivered before the tender process was completed. Zwane concluded that they will soon be engaging with the municipality “because we need those responses.

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