Cosatu in the Western Cape has distanced itself from violent protest action that took place on Thursday morning on the N2 highway.
Roads between Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain were closed for almost three hours following sporadic incidents of tyre-burning along Spine Road and the R300, sparked by alleged lack of service delivery issues in the area.
This, as the Cosatu (Congress of South African Trade Unions) embarked on a nationwide strike to highlight socio-economic struggles like the rise in unemployment, poverty, wage cuts, and inequalities affecting the country’s working class.
Khayelitsha CPF chairperson Monde Bambelo told the Daily Voice that they initially thought the protest formed part of the Cosatu strike because it was so well planned.
“We learnt that the protest was about service delivery and housing, something that is also on Cosatu’s agenda, but now we have reason to believe it has nothing to do with the union,” Bambela said.
“We will go out to speak to the residents and find out about what it really is.”
Cosatu’s provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn told the Daily Voice that the only thing on its agenda yesterday, was to hand over a memorandum to MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, and no other protest action was planned.
Allen, however, walked into a “no-show” after Cosatu members left the Legislature five minutes before their proposed meeting time at midday. “At this stage we have not received a copy of their requests,” Allen said.
According to IOL, the N2 protest was staged by residents from the Taiwan informal settlement and started from early as 3am.
Police used teargas to disperse the protesters.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the residents said the protests were due to the government’s failure to prioritise housing development.
A committee member for the Taiwan informal settlement, established in 1985, who asked not to be named, claimed they had reached out to local government and explained that the southern corridor project launched in 2018 was supposed to benefit them, but it hasn’t happened.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said integrated forces, including Public Order Police and Law Enforcement was deployed to stabilise the area. No arrests were made.
Kevin Jacobs, spokesperson for the City’s Traffic Service, added: “Traffic officers were on scene. The N2 was temporarily closed, while motorists were advised to seek alternative routes. The road has reopened.”
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