Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka will on Thursday visit Siyathemba township in Balfour, Mpumalanga, the scene of a recent violent service delivery protests.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Madonsela and Shiceka said they would meet local ward councillors to establish what “the bottlenecks hampering service delivery are… and come up with solutions.”
They will also meet community leaders at the Dipaleseng Local Municipality chamber, said Madonsela’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi.
Siyathemba residents took to the streets last week, burning municipal offices and a library, and uprooting Eskom poles to barricade the streets.
Several people, including three minors, were arrested for public violence.
The three minors were released on bail of R500 each by the Balfour Magistrate’s Court last week and are being held in a place of safety pending their next appearance on Thursday, Sergeant Sam Tshabalala said on Thursday.
Protesters also cited anger at the Burnstone goldmine, located in the area, saying it was allegedly not keeping its promise to hire half its workforce from the local community. They wanted the mine’s licence suspended until their concerns were met.
A municipal office was set alight in the township during the violence, which started on Sunday and continued into Monday.
President Jacob Zuma visited Balfour last year following a series of protests at Siyathemba by residents demanding the removal of all Mbombela municipal councillors. — Sapa