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Enclosed by razor wire - most parts of the township and the boxing gym where an announcement was to be made were boxed in by razor wire.

Militant youth reign in Malamulele

Date: 06 February 2015 By: Elmon Tshikhudo

The situation in Malamulele worsened after the Demarcation Board announced on Friday that Malamulele does not deserve to have its own municipality.

This angered the community a great deal. After the announcement, angry youths started to burn ANC T-shirts and accused at least two top ANC figures of being behind the decision to deny the area municipal status. They alleged that people in the high echelons of the ruling party had used their influence to deny them municipal status.

On Saturday, the situation turned violent and youths started to stone cars and tyres were burnt in the township. The Malamulele High School was set alight during the weekend.

Many residents of the area, and especially the youth, openly expressed their anger and, according to many observers, the decision has politicized the community so much that it will take a lot of doing from the government to bring normality to a community that is usually very peaceful.

After the board’s decision, a meeting was held at the Malamulele Boxing Gym, where the way forward was discussed. The spokesperson of the Malamulele Municipal Demarcation Task Team, Dr Isaiah Ndhambi, said that despite the “bitter” result, the task team members felt they should not give up the fight. He mentioned that two options exist for the community. They can explore the court option or utilize the new process of the re-demarcation of boundaries which is now open, and they could find themselves with a municipality.

A suggestion from the older people was that the ongoing shutdown should be suspended and people should take a breather. The elderly added that people should also explore other ways rather than a self-destructive shutdown that hurts members of the community more than the government.

The youth, however, would have none of it. “We want the task team to step aside. They were elected to get a municipality and they did not get it. Now it is time of the youth to take over and fight. It is we, the young people, who have no jobs because Thulamela Municipality and Vhembe District Municipality do not employ people from Malamulele,” said a young man amid applause.

Later, Mr Steve Mahlale, chief commander of the shutdown management team, and local Sanco chairman Mr Phanuel Baloyi appealed to the youth to show respect to the leadership.

A pastor, Dr Joseph Maluleke, who is the chairman of the Malamulele Pastor Fraternity, said they were advising the community not to take a sudden decision while angry but to allow the situation to come back to stability and thereafter look for new strategies. The youth again disapproved loudly.

Since the shutdown began three weeks ago, local youths deployed by the shutdown management committee closed all points leading to Giyani and Thohoyandou. This means that no one can go to work in Malamulele or in other towns.

Every Friday at 15:00, the curfew is suspended for the weekend and people are allowed to go and buy what they they need. This is necessary because people need supplies, especially for funerals taking place on Saturdays. Only vehicle owners, however, can reach the different towns. Hawkers who live from hand to mouth have long been struggling.

Several burial societies' offices have also been closed, while grannies and children have not received their grants since the strike began. Hospitals and clinics, however, are open, but no public transport is available to take people to them. Even hospital workers cannot reach their places of work if they depend on public transport.

A local leader told Limpopo Mirror that is seemed as if the government was not serious about solving the problem. “Minister Pravin Gordhan came to tell about the Demarcation Act, while he knew we had made an application to the board, and you cannot do so being versed in the Act,” he said.

A meeting of all structures at New Era College on Monday night was aborted when youths who had not been invited swamped the venue.

Thulamela Mayor Grace Mahosi said on Monday that the people of Malamulele were treated like all the people of Thulamela, but the situation in Malamulele is volatile. Mahosi urged the community to start afresh and allow peace to reign. “The government must not watch while Rome is burning,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in Limpopo has called for immediate calm in the Malamulele area. The party's provincial leader, Mr Jacques Smalle, said the burning of a school in the area was indeed a dark day for the community and a tragic setback for the learners in the Malamulele area. He further indicated that the protests could have been averted, had the Premier not made irresponsible promises to a community already frustrated by ANC service delivery failure.

"More than 90 schools in the Malamulele area have not yet opened their doors for the 2015 school year, due to the protests. This means that an estimated 40 000 learners have not begun the 2015 academic year in Malamulele. The DA calls on Premier Mathabatha to take up the plight of the people of Malamulele and do everything necessary to establish a regional office of Thulamela Municipality in Malamulele, and to bring an end to these violent protests," he said.

 
 
 

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Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

 
 

More photos... 

Malamulele High School was still smouldering on Tuesday.

Task team members, photographed before announcing the response from the demarcation board.

Militant youths sing freedom songs.

Spokesperson of the Malamulele task team Dr Isaiah Ndhambi reads out the response from the demarcation board.

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