Elim Mall had to be closed again, this time for nearly two days, after hundreds of residents from Mpheni and the surrounding area demanded that shops in the mall employ locals.
The protesters started by blocking the R578 road intersection between the mall, Hubyeni Shopping Complex and Elim Hospital with rocks and rubbish early on Thursday morning, 13 October. The entrances to the shopping complex and all the neighbouring businesses were also barricaded, and learners from local schools were unable to attend their classes. Two suspects among the protesters, aged 27 and 40, were arrested for public violence on Friday morning.
Elim Mall is located in the Njhakanjhaka traditional area but is also accessible from the Davhana area, from where the majority of the protesters hailed. The organisers of the protest handed their memorandum of grievances straight to the mall's area manager, Mr Christo Heineken, on Monday (17 October).
The protest greatly disrupted activities at the hospital. The Limpopo Department of Health issued a statement saying that the MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, had been denied access while on her way to examine the situation. According to the MEC, the department was forced to evacuate all inpatients admitted at the hospital on Friday morning. "To avoid any regrets, the department was forced to work with the police to evacuate all patients and temporarily close the hospital," she said.
A protesting member of the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), Fhulufhelo Ramukhuvhathi, however, denied the MEC's allegations. "The hospital was never closed and all healthcare workers were given access to the hospital," she said.
The protesters first shut the mall down over this same issue five months ago. The protesters claim that the mall is not upholding its promise to ensure that 70 to 80% of the employees come from the local communities.
The protesters accused the mall's owners of putting money ahead of the needs of the community. One of the unemployed residents, Vukosi Shihambi, believes that unemployment, particularly among youths, is a big contributor to the rise of crime in the area. "Some of us who are unemployed are the ones who commit crimes because we are idle," he said.
One of the community leaders, Mr Walter Mabasa, said the local residents were assured before the mall's development had begun that the multimillion-rand project would assist them, but this was not the case. "Crime is rampant in our area, and the majority of those involved are jobless. We discovered that both store owners and mall managers were committing nepotism by hiring friends and family members. We are fighting for our people to get jobs," he said.
Mr Wimpie Meyer, marketing manager at Elim Mall, denied these accusations, based on local employment audits. "We have always gone to great lengths in encouraging and assisting all our retail partners to employ locally. We do not tolerate exploitation and will handle allegations of this nature in a very serious manner," he said.
Sgt Tshifhiwa Radzilani of the Makhado police confirmed the incident. "The arrested suspects made their first court appearance at the Waterval Magistrate's Court on Monday," she said.