HUNDREDS of residents from communities such as Sinthumule, Kutama, Tshikota, and nearby villages took to the streets on Tuesday, 23 January.
They were demanding the immediate dismissal of Limpopo Public Works, Roads, and Infrastructure MEC Nkakareng Rakgoale.
Their anger stems from her absence and failure to come and address their grievances after she promised to do so on Sunday, 21 January.
Protesters blocked Louis Trichardt town's activities and blocked roads such as D3715, D959, R522, and the N1 for the second day.
The protest, organised by the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), aimed to voice concerns about water shortages, potholes, and expensive electricity costs.
Despite attempting to hand over their memorandum to MEC Rakgoale, who did not appear, protesters handed it over to Makhado Mayor Dorcus Mboyi.
This is after the protesters waited for Rakgoale for almost an hour.
Among the protesters was gogo Elisa Mukhitha (67) who told Daily Sun that the lack of proper roads and water scarcity forced them to purchase water with their limited Sassa grants.
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"Most of the roads have massive potholes, and the situation forces motorists to navigate through the potholes, causing accidents. Also, the water shortage has been our biggest concern for many years," she said.
Taxi owner Khangala Manyuha voiced frustration, stating that municipal services were inadequate, demanding proper roads, clean water, and affordable electricity.
"We demand the municipality to come and construct a proper road and also provide us with clean water."
The protesters also demanded the rehabilitation of Road D3715 and sought accountability for poor workmanship on Road D959.
ZCDF chairman Patrick Sikhutshi accused Rakgoale of dishonesty.
"We want to make a call to the president to ensure that MEC is fired with immediate effect.
"We are not going to leave it to the municipality. we are going to make sure that we make the necessary arrangements to amplify our views," he said.
The protesters accused Makhado Municipality of nepotism in labour recruitment and called for the Presidency's intervention.
In their memorandum, they demanded the reopening of the testing station on Monday, 29 January and threatened further action if their concerns were not addressed promptly.
They were given 14 working days to respond to their grievances.
The former mayor, Samuel Munyai, received their memorandum on behalf of the current mayor, Mboyi, and she assured the protesters that they were actively addressing their concerns.
"We are busy addressing their worries, but some issues such as the shortage of water will be escalated to the relevant departments."
According to Witness Tiva, spokesman for the Limpopo Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, in the 21 January meeting, the MEC allowed the mayor of Makhado to receive the memorandum as the MEC had another assignment on 23 January.
"We are confident that we will receive the memorandum through the mayor. We will respond within the designated time frame," said Tiva.
