Residents of Komani in the Eastern Cape took to the streets on Thursday, bringing the town to a standstill after receiving no response to their demand that the national government dissolve Enoch Mgijima Municipality.

Businesses that tried to stay open were forced to close as hundreds of people went through the town enforcing compliance with the protest.

Komani residents in the Eastern Cape shut down the town, businesses were closed and some called for the mayor to be removed. (Photo: Supplied)

The protesters gathered early in the morning at the Thembisile Chris Hani Hexagon, their regular meeting place since the start of the protests, and began moving through Komani singing, dancing and chanting, calling for the municipality to be dissolved.

Some called for Enoch Mgijima Municipality’s mayor, Madoda Papiyana, to be removed. Municipal services also ground to a halt as workers were forced to leave their offices.

The protests have continued for some time.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Komani residents threaten total shutdown, demanding the dissolution of ‘failed’ Enoch Mgijima municipality”

In a statement on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had briefed Cabinet on recent talks with stakeholders in Enoch Mgijima.

Cabinet approved a Section 139(7) intervention in the troubled municipality in April 2022.

“The Enoch Mgijima Municipality had been experiencing significant financial and service delivery failures for a long time before the intervention,” said Gungubele.

Protesters have halted business in Komani during a protest which called for Cabinet to dissolve the troubled Enoch Mgijima Municipality. (Photo: Supplied)

Protesters in Komani on Thursday. (Photo: Supplied)

He said the Cabinet appreciated the seriousness of the identified issues and assured residents that a decision on how to address the municipality’s challenges would be communicated soon.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Oops, it’s gone dark again in Komani”

Speaking to Daily Maverick, Komani Protest Action (KPA) leader Axolile Masiza said the protest would continue until Dlamini Zuma came to Komani and addressed the residents.

“We received a phone call from her office telling us that the Cabinet will respond to our demand in a week or two weeks,” he said.

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“The protest will continue until the municipality is dissolved,” vowed Masiza.

He said some businesses supported their call while others wanted to stay open.

“We will deal with those who won’t close their doors. We are planning a consumer boycott where we will not support the businesses that refused to close their doors. We have a list of all the businesses that opened.”

Masiza said the Cabinet’s delaying tactics were not helping Komani businesses as the town’s economy was taking a huge knock.

“We have also taken a decision to stop communicating with [Dlamini Zuma] by phone and are calling on her to come and address the people of Komani here at the Thembisile Chris Hani Hexagon,” he said.

He said the mandate from the residents of Komani was to have the municipality dissolved. They would not compromise on this.

Protesters in Komani say the Enoch Mgijima Municipality must be dissolved. (Photo: Supplied)

“Tomorrow we will meet here again at 6am and bring this town to a total shutdown again until Dlamini Zuma comes here,” said Masiza.

Another KPA leader, Thulani Bukani, said the residents of Komani turned out in their numbers to support the protest.

“If we look at political organisations, we will not achieve what we want, hence the residents of Komani decided to champion the dissolution of the municipality themselves. 

“This protest is not about the people who are here, but about the future of Komani as a town. This is a genuine cause to fight for and we won’t stop until we achieve what we want,” he said.

Bukani called on protesters to be tolerant of those who were opposed to the shutdown.

“The shutdown will continue… we cannot be dictated to by the ANC,” he said.

Resident Zanemvula Deliwe said Dlamini Zuma needed to respond to the community’s demands.

“If they continue to delay the response, this will cause problems in Komani. The delay shows that the Cabinet is happy with what is happening here in Komani,” he said.

“We want all those who are implicated in corruption in this municipality to be arrested and have their time in court.” DM