Premier Mabuza condemns Mayflower violence protests
11 March 2013
Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has come hard on Mayflower residents for destroying public property when they protested today [Monday, 11 March 2013] saying he would now put his foot down against criminal behaviour.
The Mayflower Chief Albert Luthuli municipal offices were burnt down into ashes when about 500 angry protestors set them alight including some huge earth moving machines.
The people burnt down a grader, water tanker, van and a truck which all belonged to the municipality. All documents and office equipment were also burnt.
The protestors told the Premier that they were dissatisfied with the “imposed troublesome” local councillor who preferred to employ his friends and relatives. They said the councillor was not assisting them in the area and had a bad attitude towards them.
They said the local roads were not graded and the graders were used by the municipality only when there were funerals for certain families. They also told the Premier that the youth in the area did not get the RDP government houses.
They further demanded a clinic and a hospital saying they had to travel long distances in order to access health facilities. They said they were not happy that there was no information around the progress on the construction of a pronounced shopping mall as the earmarked land was now dedicated for a graveyard.
They also demanded water and electricity.
Addressing the fuming crowd, a brave Mabuza stood on a big fire extinguisher red truck and addressed the people using a built-in public address system. Although the crowd jeered at him as the sound was poor, he managed to ask for the leaders of the protests which he had a meeting with at a community hall.
The Premier urged them not to distract the learners from the classrooms saying he was prepared to “work” with them on their demands.
“What you have done here today I do not like it. I appreciate and agree with what you are demanding, but I do not like the element of violence when you exercise your Constitutional Right. We are not going forward as a country.
“I will not tolerate the culture that says when you have problems with government you should destroy what is your own. By law I am expected to protect every citizen in our beautiful province, but I will not allow criminal activities to rule all of us.
“I cannot run away from you, that is why I am here to talk to you. If there are problems let us find a way of settling them down instead of injuring others. Let us not disturb the learners from their classes because by doing that we are destroying our future,” said Mabuza.
The Premier spent at least three hours at an open ground near the wrecked municipal building calming the people who also threatened to burn down the police station and the councillor’s house which was heavily guarded by the police’s tactical response team.
Mabuza promised the residents that he would return on Thursday this week to give them feedback on their demands, while at the same time pleading with them to go home and stop the violent protest.
“It is clear that these people are not just mad, they are raising these problems because they are troubling them. The protests are in the main caused by a social distance between the leadership and the people who entrusted them with government.
“Surely, they ended up frustrated and resolved to violence. What happened here today should not happen again; some of the concerns raised are minor things we can deal with, it is sad that they have burnt down everything.
“I am willing to walk with the people, that is why I say I will come back and respond to their issues. At the same time, they must be the responsible citizens, destroying their property is only taking us a step backwards,” said Mabuza.
The Premier gave them his cellular phone number saying they should call him directly if they were not listened to by the leaders instead of destroying the property.
Issued by Zibonele Mncwango
Spokesperson: Mpumalanga Premier
Tel: (013) 766 – 2453
Mobile: 079 491 0163
E-mail: zmncwango@mpg.gov.za
