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You can’t have a shutdown that closes small businesses of women who are the breadwinners
A prominent Limpopo traditional leader and a former head of the ANC’s parliamentary caucus says the Pro-Makhado Demarcation Task Team which is at the forefront of protests in Vuwani is misleading people and not acting in their best interests.
The task team has been leading protests in the Limpopo area demanding that it be reincorporated into the Makhado local municipality.
The area has experienced a series of violent protests with residents refusing to vote in the 2016 local government election.
The protest even led to burning more than 26 schools in the area.
An inter-governmental task team intervened in the matter but the task team believes concessions made during the intervention have not been met by the government.
Last week the task team called for another boycott of the elections.
However, Chief Livhuwani Matsila has rubbished the task team’s position.
Last week Arnold Mulaudzi, a task team leader, was arrested for allegedly violating the Electoral Act.
He was released on R5 000 bail after appearing in the Polokwane Magistrates’ Court last Thursday and is expected to appear in the Vuwani Magistrates’ Court on June 9.
The task ream’s chairperson Takalani Emmanuel Mukhudi told Mukurukuru Media this week that they would not participate in any government programmes until government acceded to their demand to be withdrawn from the Collins Chabane municipality and reincorporated into the Makhado Local municipality by 2021.
There were fears that people would not heed the call to vote in Vuwani last week after the task team called for a shutdown on the eve of the election.
The IEC stats indicated that only 82 144 of 161 122 registered voters in the Collins Chabane municipality voted – an average of 50.98% turnout.
The municipality, which was established by the amalgamation of portions of Thulamela local municipality and Makhado local municipality in August 2016, had a population of 347 974 in 2016.
Matsila said although people in some of the more than 30 villages under Vuwani voted, he lashed out at the task team saying they were denying people the right to receive service delivery.
“They are misleading people, I think, probably for selfish reasons in my view. I do not think that they are acting in the best interests of the community. You know, you can’t have a shutdown that closes businesses, small businesses of women who are breadwinners by selling bread and eggs and other things,” said Matsila in reference to the numerous shutdowns called by the task team.
Read: Task team demands cash to allow elections in troubled Vuwani
“So you are actually increasing levels of poverty in the area and you are de-stabilising economic development in the area. People refuse services. Why should people refuse a tar road in the area?” he asked.
Matsila, whose village is touted as a thriving model of community development led by his Matsila Family Trust which runs numerous development projects, accused the task team of denying people service delivery including stopping a project to build a tarred road.
“So who refuses a tar road, because it comes from [the] coffers of government, which is a tax revenue of government? Whether it comes through the Collins Chabane municipality or any other municipality, why should we care? How can you refuse somebody who brings you water when you are thirsty? Somebody must not bring electricity when you are sleeping in darkness?”
But Mukhudi lashed out at Matsila saying he was initially involved in the formation of the group and used his influence to open communication channels with government officials and ministers.
“I used to call the government using his [Matsila’s] phone. Yes, I learnt that it was easy for him to call the minister because he would just toggle the phone and call the minister at seven and the minister would respond,” said Mukhudi.
“But now we are different. He would go over the radio and say one thing, the spokesperson would say another. But our understanding is that the man [Matsila] is living by products from the government and he is a member of the ANC.
Read: Vuwani protest leader arrested, confirms via cellphone from holding cell
“He is a headman with a small village like the size of this [Vuwani] stadium. So what is happening is that these guys have betrayed us. We can say we have been left alone. We just keep things going. We are fighters,” said Mukhudi.
However, Matsila said ordinary residents were tired of the protests and wanted to get on with their lives.
“You can’t have self-serving protests. That is why the whole thing has now lost momentum because people could see that there is nothing for them. If you are in Collins Chabane or Makhado [local] municipality, what difference is there? We were suffering even under Makhado municipality. We did not have services rendered to us. And now, we do not even give a new entity an opportunity,” he said.
Residents who voted in the area said they expected change in the form of access to water, roads and job opportunities.
– Mukurukuru Media
