The Tshitale community in Limpopo has agreed to call off a shutdown in parts of the area‚ but protests are expected to continue in Nthabalala where two schools were torched recently.
The spokesman for the Tshitale Community Stakeholder’s Forum‚ Edson Khomola‚ said businesses and public transport would be allowed to operate in parts of the area on Wednesday after they reached agreements with government.
Residents have been protesting over two road projects in the area since last week‚ which has resulted in properties including schools and offices being torched‚ while routes were blocked.
Khomola said the community was satisfied with the feedback from the provincial Department of Public Works‚ Roads and Infrastructure regarding the 45km road project near Mashamba‚ but issues relating to the Nthabalala project still needed to be settled.
“The community has decided to call off the strike as of today concerning the Mashamba road. But I’m afraid the strike will continue on that side of Nthabalala‚” he said.
Khomola said they were anticipating that schools in parts of the area where the shutdown has been called off would resume on Thursday.
“Come tomorrow schools will open. Today‚ the community decided to clean the roads because there was a lot of stones‚ logs and holes. The community feels that they should clean up the mess‚” Khomola said.
He said they were not in support of the destruction of property in the area.
“As the community‚ we distance ourselves from the burning of schools. Those are criminal activities and the police are busy working on it‚” Khomola said.
Provincial police spokesman Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo previously said one suspect had been arrested and they were expecting to make more arrests as investigations continue.
– TMG Digital/Sowetan
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