Community members have shut down a Mpumalanga town, bringing government services and businesses to a halt.
Residents of Nkomazi municipality blocked roads with burning tyres, broken appliances, and other debris as part of demonstrations that started on Friday.
Mpumalanga’s Tonga is a small but important border town 40km from Mozambique.
The town has experienced years of infrastructure neglect in spite of its advantageous location. For a long time, locals have demanded better roads, better healthcare, and sufficient education.
One of the community’s main concerns has been the access road to Tonga Hospital.
It is now practically impossible for ambulances to arrive at the hospital promptly due to large potholes, erosion, and poor maintenance.
Delays in medical emergencies have resulted from this, occasionally with deadly outcomes.
The demonstrations are a reflection of broader dissatisfaction with the Nkomazi local municipality’s poor service delivery.
A cry for help
Sydwell Sambo, a community leader, told Sunday World that the protests’ continuation into Wednesday is unacceptable.
“This is a very sensitive, painful issue for everyone because everything remains on shutdown since last Friday,” Sambo said.
“The community members are not having fun here. They just need at least one provincial leader to come and hear them out.”
According to Sambo, the lack of a school and the state of the access road are the main causes of the protests.
“We are not happy to see everything at a standstill because Tonga residents are demanding that the road leading to the hospital be rebuilt.
“The community is simply crying out for help, but it seems no one is willing to address them directly.”
As the protests get more intense, two government institutions are accusing one another of being responsible for the deteriorating access road to Tonga Hospital.
Blame game
The Mpumalanga department of public works and the local municipality of Nkomazi disagree about who should fix the road.
Municipal spokesperson Cyril Ripinga blamed the department of public works for failing to maintain the road.
“We all live here in Nkomazi, and we know the bad condition of the roads. It is also true that ambulances are affected when being dispatched,” Ripinga said.
“We are pleading with the department of public works to assist us. They are the ones who built this road. It must return to its former glory.”
The department retaliated by dismissing Ripinga’s allegations and shifting the responsibility to local government.
“Contrary to the claims made by the municipality, the department wants to set the record straight,” said spokesperson Bongani Dlamini.
“The access road to Tonga Hospital is a municipal road and falls under the local municipality’s jurisdiction. Our mandate is to maintain and upgrade provincial roads under the South African numbering system.”
