Protesters block vital trucking route over electricity demands

Disgruntled community members in Ingogo, outside Newcastle, have vowed to continue closing the N11 as they demand electricity. 

A group of community members blocked the N11, which connects KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, near the Majuba Pass towards Volksrust on Monday. 

An important economic route for the transport of goods to and from KZN, the road was blocked by parked trucks, causing a traffic backlog from the Newcastle side estimated to be more than 20km long.

Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu said the protesters hijacked the trucks, took keys from the drivers and parked them across the road. 

Mngomezulu said motorists had to use the R34 towards Utrecht as an alternative.

A community member, who asked not to be named, said they had been calling on the Newcastle municipality for years to address power issues in the area. 

“You can't tell me that in a democratic state there are people who are still without electricity. We have been requesting power for years, but we are ignored. We will continue to protest if the municipality does not keep their promises and we will close the road again,” said the community member.

Provincial police spokesperson Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala confirmed the blockade and said the crowd dispersed peacefully after they were addressed by Newcastle mayor Xolani Dube.

Dube told TimesLIVE he met with the community on Monday after they blockaded the road. He said the community claimed they had been promised electricity by the previous leadership but were still using candles for lights. 

“We have agreed that we will have a meeting again with the community on December 4, where will invite all leaders to discuss how we [can] assist them,” he said.

“We will not accept these illegal road closures because they impact the economy of the province. We have open doors for them to come and discuss with us so that we will find solutions. They have made these threats before but we won't tolerate it.”

TimesLIVE

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