A strike in Tasbet Park and Duvha Park kept flaring up throughout the day and it kept law enforcement on their toes.
The strike started on Friday, October 19 at 03:30 on the Bethal Road (R544) when the main intersection at Kiepersol Street and the four way stop near El Paso were closed.
A policeman who was heavily armed walks around the scene, making sure everything is in order.
Trucks blocked off both these intersections and later that morning as commuters started finding alternative routes, strikers blocked off Merriedale Avenue with a truck.
Due to this strike many children could not attend school.
Tyres were burnt and lots of rocks were thrown in the road. It is alleged the reason for the strike is for the new RDP housing development that is coming up in between Tasbet Park and Duvha Park. The police managed to disperse the crowd but later reports came through of more strike action.
ALSO READ
Phola Strike – From bad to worse
TUT Strike – 60% pass rate is too high for them
At approximately 17:30 a truck driver was travelling along Watermeyer Street, when he got to the Kiepersol intersection he noticed a group of people standing in the road.
The strikers were back in full force; they approached the driver and insisted that he tips the maize onto the road.
The truck driver resisted at first, that is when one of the strikers allegedly stabbed the driver in his right thigh.
Bleeding from the leg, the truck driver jumped out of the truck and run away.
Law enforcement stands near the maize that was tipped onto the road by the Kiepersol intersection.
A striker then climbed into the cab of the truck and tipped 35 tons of maize onto the tarmac.
Due to the danger that the maize caused on the road to road users, traffic was diverted and the whole R544 was closed.
Trucks were allegedly set alight at the robot at the entrance to Duvha Park.
Police officers monitored both intersections, once the maize was cleared and the fires on the trucks were extinguished, traffic resumed to follow normally again.
“Housing is the responsibility of government to give people housing. Our responsibility starts with registering people who need houses. There are certain criteria’s that people need to qualify for housing. Such as, how much income do they earn, the age of the people and how many children. Then this gets submitted to the province who will from there decide who qualifies for a house,” said Mr Kingdom Mabuza, spokesperson for Emalahleni Municipality.
A policeman from Witbank Police Station wades through the maize that was tipped in the Kiepersol intersection on Friday, October 19.
He continued to say;
“We are not sure what caused the protest on Friday, but we don’t condemn any acts of violence like last week. People must come to the council to see if they qualify for housing. We can’t just give housing to who ever expects it. The mind set of just thinking you are entitled to housing is no longer accepted.
