Mangaung residents in the Free State are facing what could be a total shutdown amid calls for the disbanding of the Metro Council and the removal of the city manager, Tankiso Mea.
Only a few people could be seen in the streets on Monday morning trying to get to their places of work.
There is no movement in Bloemfontein today #MangaungshutDown pic.twitter.com/fHYjCxca6v
— Tsholofelo (@Sherlyn10_7) May 17, 2021
There is no public transport visible and there are just a few cars on the road.
Police have been deployed to various parts of Mangaung. Seven people have been arrested for public violence.
Public activities have been disrupted and there is no schooling, and police have urged motorists and residents to remain vigilant.
The Mangaung Metro was placed under administration in December 2019 and has been downgraded twice by Moody’s rating agency.
Shutdown organiser Themba Zweni says, “We plead with the learners and workers not to go to work and only essential workers would be allowed to go through. Only buses and taxis taking these essential workers would be permitted to go through to work.”
Zweni says residents have been subjected to poor service delivery for a long time.
Last month, the Democratic Alliance in the Free State called for an investigation into the city manager.
Allegations against Mea include financial mismanagement, unauthorised and wasteful expenditure, as outlined in the video below:
