A night vigil led by the South African Communist Party in Khutsong, outside Carletonville, went ahead on Tuesday night, despite police declaring it illegal, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported.
The community held the gathering ahead of Wednesday’s crucial decision on whether the government will allow the municipality, currently in Gauteng, to be incorporated into North West province.
Police on Wednesday said the community gathered peacefully.
”We approached the SACP on the basis that the gathering was illegal.
”After discussions, we agreed to let the vigil go ahead. We were assured by the SACP that there would be no violence,” West Rand police spokesperson Sergeant Solomon Sibiya said.
The rezoning is to be decided under the 12th amendment Bill to redraw provincial boundaries in order to eliminate cross-border municipalities.
Residents threatened to take the matter to the Constitutional Court should Wednesday’s decision go against their wishes.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly approved legislation abolishing cross-boundary municipalities — a move affecting 17 municipalities including the contentious areas of Merafong (Gauteng to North West), Matatiele (KwaZulu-Natal to Eastern Cape), Bushbuckridge (Mpumalanga and Limpopo), and Khalagadi (North West to Northern Cape).
In their attempts to stay part of Gauteng, Khutsong residents have targeted councillors’ homes, stoned police, handed over memoranda and presented their case to provincial legislatures in the past two months.
They believe they will receive better services from the wealthier Gauteng province — to which they have financially contributed.
The redemarcation of Merafong municipality into the North West amounts to a ”forced removal”, the Pan Africanist Congress said on Tuesday.
It is not democratic to evict people from one province to another against their will, said PAC president Motsoko Pheko.
”The provincial boundaries must be abolished together with the provincial legislatures that go with this,” he said.
It is wrong for the Constitution to state the country is a ”unitary state” when it has nine provincial parliaments and a national Parliament in Cape Town.
”This is a waste of money and a source of confusion and conflict,” Pheko said. — Sapa