More than 200 villagers from Ward 3 in the Thulamela Local Municipality marched from the Tshilamba taxi rank to the municipality's offices at Tshilamba on Friday afternoon, where they handed over a memorandum of grievances to municipal officials.
Nearly all major political parties in the country were represented in the protest, including delegates from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MKP), and the International Revelation Congress (IRC). They united in calling for the immediate resignation of Ward 3 councillor Norman Nekhavhambe.
Ward 3 includes the villages of Tshandama, Lukau, Khunguni, Phalama, Mulodi, and the township of Tshilamba.
Addressing the marchers just outside the municipality's offices — which had been locked by police and municipal security officers — the deputy convener of the march, Mr Khuliso Nesane, said residents were fed up with the municipality's failure to deliver basic services. The area has been experiencing water shortages for more than a month.
"We have reached a boiling point. We are being taken for granted by the municipality while our communities suffer in silence. Today, we rise with one voice to say: enough is enough. Our demands are not requests, and they are non-negotiable. All we want is service delivery — not political statements," he said.
Residents are also demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of the current ward councillor. "The ward councillor must resign NOW, not tomorrow, not next week, but now. The councillor is completely unapproachable, unreliable, and absent from community matters," the statement reads.
The protesters emphasised the need for urgent access to basic services. "We are not asking for luxuries. We are demanding our constitutional right to access water regularly," Nesane added.
The municipality was given seven days to respond.
"If they fail to respond on time, we will call for a total shutdown. We will approach bus and taxi operators to suspend services for the day, so that no one goes to work. It is time to take action," Nesane concluded.
The memorandum was accepted on behalf of the municipality by Livhuwani Maduse, who promised to forward it to the relevant authorities.