KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development MEC Sihle Zikalala has called on South Africans not to use violence during service delivery protests as that undermines foreign investments. Zikalala was speaking to hundreds of community members at Mtubatuba in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
In the past two weeks, protestors damaged property, the infrastructure and blockaded the N2 highway, which led to the loss of millions of rands in the economy.
In the recent past, truck drivers also blockaded the Mooi Plaza in the midlands in protest against the appointment of foreign truck drivers. “They undermine the goals of the economy and they also affect our campaign of attracting more investors to come and invest in our country. Nobody will invest in a country that is violent and not stable. But more than that, violent protests even undermine and disrupt the infrastructure. We want to ensure that these are avoided. We call on all South Africans to ensure if they are concerned, to raise their concerns properly, and leave them to attend to those concerns with a great sense of urgency.”
Meanwhile, Zikalala added that the team led by two provincial MECs is making progress in addressing the concerns of the community which led to the violent protests at Mtubatuba. The community protested demanding service delivery in the area.
“We are as structures of government attending to those concerns. The MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, as well as the MEC for Human Settlement are tasked by cabinet to work with Umkhanyakude in addressing the challenges that were raised by the community and I think there is progress in the work they are doing. We are saying all stakeholders must be part of that process,” says Zikalala.
