Life returned to normal on Wednesday in Mpumalanga’s old mining town, Barberton, after a week of crippling protests under the #BuyaMjindi banner brought the historic area to a standstill.
The unrest was fuelled by long-simmering anger over service delivery and demands for the re-establishment of the former Umjindi local municipality, which was dissolved years ago and swallowed into Mbombela local municipality under a new name, City of Mbombela local municipality.
Early last week, protesters blocked roads with burning tyres, prevented buses and taxis from operating, and forced shops and schools to close.
Residents vowed that Barberton would not function until their calls received attention, causing businesses to count mounting losses.
Social media used to rally support
Leading the demonstrations was ANC activist Njabulo “Shugu” Mkhonto, who used social media to rally support while in hiding from police.
He previously vowed to hand himself over to police only after the community’s grievances were addressed.
On Tuesday night, Mkhonto took to Facebook to announce that the protest would be suspended.
“All taxis and roads will be open from 11am until late. All schoolchildren must attend their respective schools without any disturbances. All Indian shops and other shops shall operate 24/7 [as] usual,” he wrote.
By Wednesday morning, roads were clear, taxis were ferrying commuters, and children returned to classrooms.
Mkhonto then issued another update, writing to the so-called stone-throwing committee: “Total shutdown, or the strike, is temporarily suspended; no one is allowed to protest as per the agreement of Umjindi stakeholders.
“The stone-throwing committee, together with our comrades from the taxi association, will be cleaning the roads, starting from now.”
When contacted for comment, Mkhonto told Sunday World that he could not speak immediately. While calm has been restored, political tempers remain high.
DA blames blatant corruption
DA councillor Philip Minnaar accused the ANC of creating the crisis through what he called a reckless municipal amalgamation.
“The DA in Mbombela urges the municipality’s demarcation board and the executive mayor, Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, to act swiftly and resolve the ongoing demarcation crisis that has collapsed service delivery in Barberton and ultimately led to community protests,” said Minnaar.
He claimed service delivery and public safety had deteriorated since the 2016 merger of the two municipalities.
“The ANC’s greed, power play, and blatant corruption created a situation that could not be reversed. It must be noted that Umjindi Barberton was in a stable financial position,” he said.
Minnaar said the DA had consistently opposed the merger and was still pushing for alternative governance models that would give Barberton residents control over their service delivery budgets.
“We will continue to fight for all affected residents until the municipality finds the best options to restore and rebuild Umjindi Barberton,” he said.
City of Mbombela spokesperson Joseph Ngala has yet to respond to media questions sent to him on Tuesday.
