As work intensified last week to get Grahamstown ready for the National Arts Festival, not everyone was pleased with how it was being done.
As work intensified last week to get Grahamstown ready for the National Arts Festival, not everyone was pleased with how it was being done.
A group of Grahamstown job seekers threatened to disrupt the National Arts Festival unless local labourers were hired on projects. The group of around 30 brought work to a halt at a construction site near Fitzroy Street on Monday 22 June.
They said they would do the same with every contractor in the area, threatening to disrupt the National Arts Festival to get their point across.
Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter, Council Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaac and senior Infrastructure and Technical employee Sithembele Tutuse rushed to the site where the group had blocked the gate of Khulanathi Construction.
They said they intended to join last week's SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) March to hand over their memorandum of demands to the municipality; however, they were not among those who marched outside the city hall on Wednesday.
Khulanathi Construction Project's manager, who identified himself only as Eugene, said they had been hired by the Department of Roads and Public Works to patch up roads to prepare for the upcoming Festival.
Eugene said their work was being hampered by the protesting workers. He said they had been chased away from another site by the same angry group.
At the centre of the dispute was the group's demands to be hired in Makana-based projects.
However, Eugene said they were engaged in a road maintenance programme which requires very few labourers.
"We have our own nucleus of workers who have been with us for many years."
Eugene said the project cut across Ndlambe and Makana municipalities, adding that the maximum number of people they could hire was 20: Ten for each municipality.
Eugene said they normally elect community liaison officers (CLO) to conduct the process of hiring people from municipal areas, saying that the department did not think this would be necessary for the current project.
"CLOs will have to be elected from Makana and Ndlambe. Candidates for the CLO positions must be ready by Friday, 3 July," he said.
Ward councillor Lena May was the first person to meet with the protesting workers outside the site.
May phoned Peter to come and address them. The mayor arrived with his team minutes later.
They met inside the site office with the contractors, May, and two representatives of the protesting workers.
After the meeting the workers went to the office of the Unemployed People's Movement to meet with Ayanda Kota to plan for Wednesday's march.
Workers' representative Mzwabantu Stuurman said Peter was concerned about the Festival and wanted to ensure that everything went smoothly.
"The only thing they care about is the Festival – not the hungry people of Makana," he said.
The group vowed to march and protest until the start of the Festival if their demands are not met. They came from different parts of Makana.
anele@grocotts.co.za
