A thousand Khutsong residents protested outside the office of Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on Friday against plans to incorporate the Merafong municipal into the North West province from Gauteng.
Stressing their dissatisfaction over the proposed re-demarcation, the group handed a memorandum over to officials, said Shilowa’s spokesperson Shalo Mbatha.
”They have already dispersed. They protested peacefully and there were no problems,” she said.
Two weeks ago, residents of Khutsong took to the streets, burning tyres and vandalising councillors’ houses in opposition to the move.
This week, Parliament approved an amendment Bill allowing the re-demarcations of 17 municipalities.
Of these, the most contentious are Khutsong, near Carletonville (to move from Gauteng to North West); Matatiele (from KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape); Bushbuckridge (from Mpumalanga to Limpopo); and Khalagadi (from North West to the Northern Cape).
Similar protests took place earlier this week in other areas, including Matatiele. — Sapa