MULENZHE - The community of Dididi, a place 12 km outside Thohoyandou, threatened to embark on mass action in protest against the non-compensation of their destroyed mealie fields by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's construction of the Nandoni Dam and bridge.

A task team of ten people was elected to defend a group of subsistence farmers. This community had planned to disturb the handing over of houses by the Minister of Water Affairs, Ronnie Kasrils at Budeli on March 4, but a member of the Water Affair's Acting Implementation plan, Jeon Msiza, personally handed the memorandum to the minister.

The Planning Committee has gathered at Nandoni Dam's conference room on March 3, to discuss the demands of this community. Many families have lost their fields due to the construction of the bridge, road and dam.

The Department of Water Affairs has vowed to compensate them with an amount of R1 853 yearly, but the community denied any knowledge of this compensation amount, saying that it is "unreasonable" in any case.

They threatened to take the matter to court should the Department fail to solve it amicably. The proposal of mass action has been submitted to the Thulamela Municipality. The community demands that the compensation amount be made available before May 31 and that this amount should not be less than R5 000 per year.