The N6 road near Cathcart in the Eastern Cape has been closed, due to an ongoing protest, that resulted in looting and burning of trucks, while private vehicles are being pelted with stones.
Provincial Transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose says law enforcement officials continue to monitor the situation.
The protests started earlier this week, with residents complaining about a possible downgrade of the Cathcart Hospital to a primary healthcare facility.
Binqose says the MEC for Transport Xolile Nqatha has appealed to residents to refrains from such acts of criminality.
“The Eastern Cape Department of Transport has noted with great concern, the disruptive and very destructive seemingly systematic protests that are targeting some of the major arteries in the country, the N6 near Cathcart. The N6 is the road that is connecting towns such as East London and Queenstown to other provinces like Gauteng and transport MEC Xolile Nqatha has warned that perpetrators and orchestrators of these crimes that the law is hot on their heels. ”
