Concerned groups clash
It was further alleged that two councillors of Msukaligwa Municipality were involved and were members of MCC
The offices at the Msukaligwa Local Municipality at the Civic Centre in Ermelo had to be temporarily closed after two concerned groups clashed and one person was stabbed last Wednesday.
According to sources close to the situation, the issue began when members of the Msukaligwa Concerned Citizens (MCC) collected CVs that members of the community had submitted at the municipal offices for jobs at Stefan Stocks Mine.
Mr S’busiso Lukhele, representing the community, accused the MCC of interfering with the recruitment processes at the mine. “MCC members interrupted production at the mine last Thursday until Monday, when they demanded mine management hand over the CVs to them for verification.
Fearing prolonged delay in operations, management complied,” said S’busiso in the company of other community members.
He and his supporters explained that some of the CVs were destroyed and they decided to confront the MCC on the matter. The matter was reported to the police, who contacted the group to return the CVs the next day.
“We were here to meet with the Director of Corporate Services, Mr Maimela, as we believed he would be able to assist us, because he was in constant talks with the mine management as the municipal Local Economic Development (LED) failed to assist us.
“When the MCC got here, they threw the CVs down at the entrance, an altercation ensued and one of us was stabbed,” said the group.
The group maintained that they wanted to “expose the rot and corruption in the MCC”.
They were also concerned that most members of the community spent their last money to prepare their CVs only to have them either destroyed or thrown around like that.
“What business does the MCC have in verifying people’s addresses? “They don’t even have an office for that matter, yet they call themselves a recognised structure,” said the group.
When asked if they represented any party, they said they belonged to various political parties, but were united in a common goal: employment for local people.
They also took a swipe at the LED office, saying it has been biased in telling them that they recognised MCC as an official structure.
It is further alleged that the MCC takes bribes in exchange for employment.
“People’s ID copies are being blown all over Wesselton. It is a sensitive document to be lying around, as a lot can happen with just an ID number,” said S’busiso.
According to a source in the Ermelo Police, two people were stabbed as a result of the scuffle, nine suspects were arrested and four were released on bail.
It was further alleged that two councillors of Msukaligwa Municipality were involved and were members of MCC.
However, no response to enquiries to the municipality had been received by the time of going to print.
The Highvelder could not reach any of the mine managers for comment and attempts to get a comment from the MCC drew a blank, as none of the members contacted wanted to comment on the matter.
