Ten schools in Marite, Bushbuckridge, were closed as residents protested against the Bushbuckridge Local municipality.
Residents accused the local municipality of failing to construct a road linking the Marite area with other villages.
They marched to the local municipality to hand over a memorandum.
“We want a tar road here as we were promised, the municipality is always lying to us, they must appoint a contractor,” says community leader, Surprise Mashele.
Protesters forced pupils to join the protest.
“We are missing out on classes, we will fail at the end of the year because they should protest alone and not include us,” says one leaner.
The embattled Bushbuckridge Local municipality has set aside over R70 million for the project and a contractor appointed to commence with the first phase of the project.
“I think this is a lack of civic education because all processes are underway, our people just need to be patient when it comes to these issues,” says municipality spokesperson Aubrey Mnisi.
The road project is expected to be completed next year.
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