On the advertisement it was dictated that the party would be running from 18:00 on May 1 to 06:00 on May 2, and that it did, as residents claim that they were deprived of their sleep on Friday night.
The party, which was organised by BM Entertainment and eMalahleni TuT LSRC, was hosted on Tshwane University of Technology sports grounds on Friday night.
In a statement issued by Jane Sithole, Democratic Alliance Mpumalanga Legislature spokesperson, Mike Hilton, DA councillor in eMalahleni, claimed to have received complaints throughout the night from patients at the hospital who were traumatised by the loud music.
Residents of Del Judor were also subjected to the same deafening sound and when they complained to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the officers were reluctant to act as they allegedly believed that TUT had received permission to host the festival.
Mr Theo van Vuuren, acting municipal manager, stated on social media that no permission had been granted to the university.
The municipal by-laws clearly state that permission to host such a disruptive event must be obtained from the municipality.
“Excessive noise from whatever source cannot be tolerated. In a normal functioning society this would have been dealt with swiftly by the relevant authorities. But for unknown reasons we are not able to enforce even the most basic laws. I hope that those who are responsible to enforce law and order will wake from their slumber and start to fulfil their mandate to the people of this town. Permission for such an event should never be granted unless it is in an indoor event and the noise level outside the venue is negligible,” stated Lorenz Mielke, a resident of eMalahleni.
Some of the residents claimed the music was so loud that their windows were rattling.
“I’m in Del Judor 4 and I heard it all night. It’s pathetic that it was allowed to carry on the way it did,” said Kerry Robson on social media.
Lindsey Oliver, questioned on social media who would be held accountable and asked “Is our society so lawless people can do as they like and bugger everyone else?”
The DA further stated that ‘While all citizens are entitled to their freedom and rights, these rights should not be enjoyed in such a way that they infringe on the rights of others. TUT’s management must take responsibility for the chaos that occurred on Friday night.’
The DA claimed they would write to Cooperative Governance MEC, Refilwe Mtshweni, asking her to investigate whether the university transgressed the by-laws and for appropriate action to be taken, stating that the rights of patients and residents must be respected.
Sam Ndinisa raised a good point on social media in saying, “The Emalahleni Local Municipality is one of the most useless corrupt municipalities I have ever seen, provide people with basic needs as a priority (clean water, sanitation, electricity and health first) and leave your security ruling system for now. Leave the kids its freedom in their life time after all it’s not an every weekend event.”
Another resident, Jeffery Bydawell, questioned whether anything had been done to prevent the bypassing of the municipal by-laws and further questioned how much power does the municipality actually have.
“With concern regarding the noise levels experienced over the weekend, we have investigated the matter and there was no disruption or any formal complaints lodged from the patients regarding the festival,” said Mr Jan van Wyk, administration and finance manager, Life Cosmos Hospital.
TUT was contacted to comment on the matter but have failed to respond in time for print.
