NOVANEWS
The community agreed to stop the protests after residents of Malamulele and the Municipal Demarcation Board finally came to an agreement, with the board committing to redefine the boundaries of several municipalities after a public referendum.
The protests originally began when the board denied the community’s independence request, arguing that the surrounding villages were not financially viable, according to the local IOL News. The Malamulele community had accussed the Thulamela Municipality of favoring to Venda-speaking areas, over themselves, who largley speak Tsonga.
“We no longer want Thulamela. We can fall under any other municipality. We have suffered a lot,” said the deputy secretary of the Malamulele task force, Isaac Nokeri, during the meeting on Monday.
The five-week shutdown stopped most public services. Students were barred from classes and sections of four schools were burned.
South African President Jacob Zuma commented on the protests during an interview with the state channel SABC, stating it was “unacceptable” for the users of services like schools.
“Once you shut down, you infringe on other people’s rights such as children not being able to go to school,” he said. The ANC Limpopo applauded the decision to end the protest. “The ANC in Limpopo welcomes the decision by the people of Malamulele to call off the shut-down of businesses and services in Malamulele and the surrounding areas,” said spokesman Khumbudzo Ntshavheni in a statement.
