Vuwani - Shops have finally opened for business at the troubled Vuwani shopping complex, in Limpopo.
For the past two weeks, protesters did not only prevent learners from going to their respective schools in Vuwani and the surrounding villages, but also forced shop owners at Vuwani shopping complex to close.
Taxis are also operating in one of the so-called volatile villages, Tshimbupfe central, following a meeting between traditional leaders and residents at local tribal council yesterday by Communications Minister Faith Muthambi. The Minister is a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked with the responsibility of restoring peace and stability in Vuwani and the surrounding villages.
The police have also removed the barbed wire, which they had placed around the shopping complex, when the violent protests erupted.
The violence followed the ruling by the Limpopo High Court to affirm the decision of the Municipal Demarcation Board, to amalgamate Vuwani with parts of the Malamulele municipality.
Minister Muthambi said: “As government, we are happy that life is slowly returning to normal in Vuwani and some of the surrounding villages. We are happy that businesses are running at the shopping complex, but we want to emphasise that the IMC together with community structures will work very hard until the resumption of normal community life and activities in the area.
“The abnormal situation of stopping pupils from going to school cannot be allowed to become normal in this area,” she said.
Earlier this morning, Limpopo MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, MEC Makoma Makhurupetje, paid a courtesy visit to Chief Nthumeni Masia of Ha-Masia village.
The situation in most villages under Chief Masia such as Vyeboom, Sinthumule and Vhangani is still tense. Roads are still blockaded and learners have not yet return to their schools.
Even at Mashau and Masakona villages, where most schools were torched and damaged, the situation is gradually returning to normal. - SAnews.gov.za
