Illegal protest shuts down quarry

POLICE threats to forcefully remove an angry crowd protesting outside a local cement quarry company fell on deaf ears in Empangeni on Tuesday morning.

Furious Ndabayakhe residents stood outside the Lafarge Ninias Quarry entrance, waiting for top management to accept their memorandum of concerns.

Even though the assembly was declared an illegal gathering, the community continued to sing and dance outside the property and ignored police warnings.

The protest started in the Ephayindini area where community members assembled to confront Lafarge management regarding what they called ‘empty promises’.

When police warned them not to march towards the company building, determined residents shoved officials aside.

They said the company promised them bursary assistance, the renovation of schools buildings, the construction of a multipurpose centre and sports fields.

‘According to the company’s social labour plan, they were supposed to help the community. But every time we see them they always give us excuses. This company is operating in our area and we demand they do what they promised,’ said a representative of the Ndabayakhe Community Committee, Vela Mthembu.

‘We want to be provided with basic services such as road maintenance and a training centre,’ said Mthembu.

With high unemployment in the area, residents also demanded that the company employ 90% local people as part of their community upliftment programme.

‘We know they can’t take us all, but we need to benefit from them. These people are not direct with us. Instead, when we question them they send us from pillar to post. We want answers and a time frame when they will start to deliver,’ said another leader, Zakhele Shandu.

Production was temporarily halted as angry residents blocked the entrance, yelling ‘nothing in and nothing out until we get answers’.

Towards midday a representative from the company received the memorandum, saying only the head office in Johannesburg could respond.

The Zululand Observer contacted the head office, but received no statement at the time of going to print.

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