ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe was expected to visit Standerton on Thursday to seek a solution to the unrest in the Mpumalanga town, local leaders said.
”Comrades, tomorrow [Thursday] the secretary-general of the ANC comrade Gwede Mantashe will be in Standerton,” said Sakhile community leader Phanuel Manana on Wednesday afternoon.
By early evening, residents of the township continued building new road barricades and throwing stones at police .
Two councillors had resigned by that time, and all the arrested protesters — about 40 in total — had been released.
Earlier, Manana told a packed Sakhile stadium that all councillors who refused to resign by noon on Wednesday would be removed.
”Comrades, the councillors that are not respecting the community by refusing to resign will be removed by tomorrow,” Manana said.
African National Congress spokesperson Ismael Mnisi was unable to confirm immediately that Mantashe would visit the strife-torn Standerton.
”Deployees from the ANC national executive committee will be going there. I’m not sure if it will be secretary-general himself,” Mnisi said in Johannesburg.
Reporting back to the community in Standerton on Wednesday afternoon, leaders said only two of the 14 councillors, excluding the mayor, had agreed to quit.
They also said only two of their demands were met by the council. They handed over a memorandum on Tuesday demanding that the municipality remove all ward councillors and all municipal managers.
Residents also demanded free electricity, that those arrested during the protest action be released, and an end to what was described as random police shootings.
The residents are accusing the councillors and the municipality of mismanagement of funds, saying that reconstruction and development programme (RDP) houses were left unfinished because of their
greediness.
Municipal spokesperson Sipho Mkhwanazi said the municipality could not answer the calls for the resignation of councillors.
”Councillors are deployed by the ruling party in the municipality. Only the ruling party can take that decision,” said Mkhwanazi.
The roads into Sakhile remained blocked by smouldering trash heaps, stones, burning tyres and concrete barriers on Wednesday morning.
Gangs of young men were demanding ”tolls” from motorists and pedestrians who needed to pass.
As the day progressed, some normality returned to Sakhile township and nearby Standerton. Many shops re-opened after closing on Tuesday as business owners feared damage from toyi-toying
protesters. – Sapa