Picture: One of damaged vehicles at the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality
By OBAKENG MAJE
Schools were disrupted during the first day of opening in Ganyesa village near Vryburg on Wednesday. This comes after residents of Ganyesa and Austrey embarked on a violent protest demanding a tar road. Some of the residents said they demand a tar road between Austrey and Ganyesa.
One of the community leaders, Norman Moncho said irked protesters allegedly stormed into the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality offices and smashed windows, furniture and vehicles.
“Our residents are gnashing their teeth because of empty promises. They have aired their dissatisfactions many times but nothing was done. The 16km road was supposed to be constructed long time ago, however, that has not happened. So, we want to know what happened to the budget that was supposed to construct that road.
“The gravel road that links Austrey and Ganyesa is inaccessible and that affects our people’s livelihoods. Ambulances cannot access the area on time and that puts many lives at risk. We have people who lost their loved ones especially pregnant women while waiting for help,” Moncho said.
Picture: Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality building damaged
Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality mayor, Virginia Mere said: “We strongly condemn what happened following the destruction of municipal properties by number of individuals who seemingly got out of the bus with wooden walking sticks and other dangerous ammunition.
“The bus is usually travelling from and between Austrey, Moswana and Goodwood villages to and from Vryburg on daily basis. It is clear that those people had the intention to vandalize and destruct as they were in possession of steelworks after they entered the municipal building.”
Mere further said the protesters allegedly broke the aluminum doors and windows at the municipality. She added that municipal vehicles were also damaged during the protest.
“The protesters also threw bottles and stones at municipal officials. The incident forced us to close doors of the municipality and the communities will be notified on when services will resume,” she said.
Meanwhile, the North West Education department spokesperson, Elias Malindi urged community members to refrain from disrupting schools during protests.
“We condemn the disruption of schools as that has a negative impact on our learners. We understand our communities’ frustrations and we urge them to use proper channels to raise their dissatisfactions.
“However, everything went well during the first day of schooling in various schools across the province. The teachers are ready for 2020 academic year and we are planning on improving our marks this year,” Malindi said.
The Guardian 