The Rise Middelburg Youth Movement held a protest in the town on Tuesday, demanding answers from the municipality and construction contractors why young people were being overlooked for jobs.

“We are marching against our municipality, because we feel they don’t give us, the youth, anything, no jobs. If you are not an ANC member, you will not get a job,”  community activist Zintle Gamana said.

According to Phumza Dyantyi, one of the organisers, several long-standing grievances remain unresolved, despite it being brought to the attention of officials.

“On Sunday, loudhailers announced that a community meeting would take place, but then they added that only ANC members need to attend — we want to understand why only ANC members are getting feedback.

“Most of our youth are unemployed. There are two new construction sites, but nobody knows how the recruitment processes took place.” 

Protesters took away tools from roadside construction workers in town, stormed the municipal offices and toyi-toyied at a reception hall.

They then marched out of town to insist that workers down tools at the new water works construction site.

Movement representative Mongezi Bontiya addressed both the crowd and the construction site management, insisting that all construction work was halted until officials explained the secrecy surrounding the recruitment process of construction workers.

The movement also demanded clarification of appointments within the Inxuba Yethemba local municipality (IYM).

Several elderly members of the community also joined the protest.

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was saddened  that her struggle continued even after 1994.

“We fought the struggle back in the 1980s. Now our struggle continues, because we have to fight for our children’s right to employment.

“We have graduates sitting at home here, while people from out of town are appointed at home affairs, Sassa and on construction sites.”

The youth also demanded that older members of the municipal council make way for the younger generation.

“They are reappointing people who are supposed to be on retirement. The speaker is 67 years old. We demand that the municipality recognise the youth.”

Liberate Mpike,  another protest organiser, told the Dispatch that the distribution of food parcels was further cause for concern.

“Groceries are distributed at night. These parcels are taken to ‘their’ people, which means that most of the people who are really suffering don’t get any groceries.”

On their return to town, the protesters were met outside the municipal buildings by mayor Noncedo Zonke and several other municipal councillors.

Zonke tried to persuade them to identify a delegation of leaders to meet the municipality later, but the crowd insisted that grievances be heard immediately.

“We are tired of the municipality stalling instead of acting on our grievances,” youth leader Phiwokuhle Jacobs told the Dispatch.

Zonke requested protesters to give municipal councillors some time to discuss the matters brought to light, but by the time of going to press, Dyantyi said a total shutdown of Middelburg seems to be the only solution, since councillors had locked themselves in the municipal buildings without giving feedback.

The municipality had not responded to Dispatch queries at the time of writing.