Hundreds of pupils started marching to the Khutsong police station on Thursday afternoon to hand over a memorandum to protest the incorporation of Merafong, in the Carletonville area, into the North West province.
The pupils hoped to hand the memorandum to mayor Des van Rooyen.
It says Parliament must speedily convene to deal with the matter before the end of February.
”We therefore demand that the decision made to incorporate Merafong into North West be withdrawn. The voice and the will of the people must always be respected and must always be supreme,” it says.
The document is addressed to the Merafong local municipality, the Gauteng local government department, the national Department of Provincial and Local Government, and President Thabo Mbeki.
It demands a response from the government within five days.
Earlier, the singing pupils gathered at Khutsong Stadium, where they waved placards reading: ”We don’t want to go to North West.”
The protesters, in school uniform, are from three high schools in the area — Badirile, Relebogile and Tswasongu.
The event was organised by the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Congress of South African Students.
”Young people of Merafong and Khutsong in particular are protesting to highlight their dissatisfaction with the manner in which government dealt with this issue.
”Clearly, we will not accept our area to be moved to the North West province,” said YCL local leader Tatolo Makoko.
Police were patrolling the area. A number of protests against the incorporation turned violent last year. — Sapa