Violence erupts in Marapong

MARAPONG – Violence erupted in Marapong on Monday night as an angry mob set fire to 22 busses from Lowveld Bus Services, the satellite police station, a municipal office and the library. Various privately owned businesses were also damaged. The damage is estimated at millions of rands.
“We have not assessed the monetary losses on our busses yet, but can safely say that it will be millions,” says Frans Rossel of Lowveld Bus Service. “None of our staff or passengers were hurt, but we lost 19 busses and an additional three busses were very badly damaged.”
While the violent protest seems to be about service delivery and unemployment, no confirmation as to what sparked the violent behaviour has been received yet. According to some residents they are unhappy about unemployment, service delivery and the fact that local people can’t obtain jobs at Medupi. “We have been made promises that we will be employed but up until now we are still sitting at home without jobs,” a resident told Northern News.
By Wednesday evening  the radio station SAFM reported that 14 people were arrested earlier the day making good Limpopo police spokesperson, Lt Col Maselela Ledwaba's promise that police will do everything in its power to bring the arsonists to book.
Tuesday afternoon the burned busses had not been removed yet and a heavy police presence could be seen in the area. Most of the residents in Marapong who spoke to Northern News agreed that the incident was unnecessarily violent and that protestors should have vented their frustrations in the correct manner.
“We are all struggling to make ends meet but there was no reason to damage busses and endanger our lives,” says Margret Ndou, who lives in extension 1 in Marapong.
Klaas Mathebula agrees, “I am selling vegetables on the street, because I can’t find a job, but I don’t think what these people did was right.”
Meanwhile, some sources are claiming that the protest started because the mayor, Jack Maeko, refused to grant residents permission to participate in a legal protest march against unemployment and service delivery.
The municipality responded that the Mayor is not allowed to grant permission for a march and that all applications are handled by the municipality. It also stated that it regrets the incidents of violence that took place.
According to the municipality, Maeko has always championed the cause of the local labour force and met with stakeholders on several occasions to discuss the qualms of local residents pertaining to job losses and the employment of local workers.  It stated that it is important to note that Lephalale has an unemployment rate of 22.9%, which is below the provincial average.
The municipality urges the community to stay calm and to refrain from violence.
The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) condemned the violent protest in Limpopo that resulted in the destruction of property and infrastructure.