Motorists are urged to avoid the N4 in Mbombela. Taxi drivers in Mbombela have blocked the N4 highway and several routes using trucks in protest over the fuel price hike. Mpumalanga Police say eight people have been arrested. Nelspruit don’t strike on social media. All roads coming out of townships closed and roads going into the town of Mbombela on lockdown.
While for other the National Shutdown is all about lashing out on Twitter, some people are actually acting on it. It looks like Mbombela will be the only City standing for South Africans? As we speak some roads in Mbombela, Tekatakho have been closed. Residents are protesting about electricity and petrol prices. The protest is supported by the taxi industry. Taxi drivers have warned everyone participating in the strike that looting will not be tolerated. They only want to make their voices heard, not to turn the protest into a looting spree that will only have a negative impact in the community.
According to police, the protestors woke up the truck drivers who had parked next to the road and ordered them to block the roads and took away their keys. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes. Various roads have been blocked in Mbombela and surrounding areas KaBokweni, Tekatakho, N4 Ngodwana, N4 Matsulu intersection, Kaapmuiden, R38 intersection. R40 towards Barberton is open and Kapsehoop. Below are all the roads that are currently closed:
Social media users are currently praising Mbombela for taking the lead, hoping other cities will follow suit. Meanwhile, Santaco says they will not be taking part in the protest. They should be worried about Mbombela taxi drivers who are saying enough is enough. People are feeling the pinch of the petrol price. On Wednesday fuel prices went up again. A litre now costs more that an hourly rate for some employees. How is our government expecting people to cope? Citizens have lashed out at Santaco for refusing to be part of the shutdown, saying these taxi drivers and owners are trying to please President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We are ready to go to the streets, however Santaco which used to be independent during Mbeki and Zuma era is refusingto join us. They could stand in unite with citizens but now they appear to be captured. We don’t know if their source of income now comes from Cyril Ramaphosa.
Other people plan to join Mbombela
Meanwhile, other people on Twitter are saying they are planning to join Mbombela. “We must group ourselves into regions or Towns, then we block everything, but we must be uniform in our motion, Peace won’t help us”, a Twitter user said.
How is the situation in your area?
Sources:
https://twitter.com/MPMirror/status/1544555301474639873?t=A32-Hey_GqlGtnatRH0Xpw&s=19
Cliff The Reporter
Link:https://twitter.com/CliffShiko/status/1544554338852429825?s=19
https://twitter.com/Mahlalelavgmai1/status/1544550121014284296?t=KhhGUtDn35ZIj0ur4KQF1Q&s=19
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