Situation remains unchanged at Vuwani

Even though the government claims that service delivery in Vuwani has resumed as an implementation of the interim intervention by Pres Zuma, the situation at Vuwani remains unchanged, with the total shutdown still in force in the area.

The area was characterised by violent protests that left more than 30 schools, government properties and private properties burnt last year when residents fought off their inclusion into the new Lim 345 municipality by merging them with the people of Malamulele.

The shutdown that was resumed three weeks ago has adversely affected schooling in the area where more than 26 000 pupils, including Grade 12s, have already lost plenty of schooling time.

The resumption of the shutdown in the area came about after residents realised that the interim intervention plan towards a lasting solution by Pres Zuma to have the area receive services from Vhembe district was not being carried out.

To show their dissatisfaction, thousands of residents from the area arrived in buses and taxis and marched to the Vhembe district offices where they handed over a memorandum of their grievances. For some time now, the government has been talking about the resumption of services in the area, but the community feels not enough is being done to address their problems.

For the past two weeks, talks of offices operating in Vuwani have done the rounds, but those who are close to the area speak of the opposite. Acting Pro-Makhado Task Team spokesperson Mr Alex Ramashau said the situation had not changed in Vuwani.

"We are mandated by our community to see to it that things come into place, but by the look of things, there is nothing happening in Vuwani. If things go back to normal and offices become operational, we will give this feedback to our people and maybe they will opt for the suspension of the shutdown. As of now, the situation is not right and we are forced to continue with our shutdown," he said.

Ramashau further indicated that it was unfortunate that learners in the area were negatively affected, but said it had been a collective decision to shut down everything, including the schools.

Limpopo government spokesperson Mr Phuti Seloba said he was shocked to hear that parents were stopping their children from going to school. Many of the learners in the area have not even written their trial examinations.

News - Date: 22 September 2017

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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