Tshwane Total Shutdown: Protest movement hits Pretoria

The Tshwane Total Shutdown protest movement gripped Pretoria on Thursday morning, resulting in major traffic disruptions and an increased police presence. Total Shutdown action – first witnessed in the Western Cape and more recently in Alexandra, Johannesburg – is a protest movement designed to disrupt daily routine in an attempt to bring attention to a wide array of socioeconomic issues. The protests usually involve the barricading of major roadways and mass marches. Disruption in Tshwane erupted in the early hours of Thursday morning, following anonymous threats and flyer-drops earlier in the week. The African National Congress (ANC), which openly supported the protests in Alexandra, have distanced themselves from the Tshwane Total Shutdown. ANC regional chairperson, Dr Kgosi Maepa, said: “I’ve heard people are going to organise a shutdown. We are not against it because there is no service delivery in Hammanskraal.” The exact cause of the discontent in Tshwane is,…
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Activist group threatens to shut down Pretoria east after a previous memorandum was not taken seriously

The group claims that a previous memorandum handed to the Tshwane metro in March was not taken seriously. A Mamelodi activist group, which recently shut down Mamelodi municipal office services for several weeks, said they will do so again – if their demands are not met, reports Pretoria East Rekord. Oupa Mashiane, chairperson of the Mamelodi Concerned Residents for Service Delivery, made the remarks while handing over a memorandum to the metro at the local municipal offices on Monday morning. It was the second such memorandum, he said, and “the last”. Mashiane gave the metro seven working days to respond to demands. “This is a serious matter – the city of Tshwane must take our demands very seriously,” said Mashiane. Utility services MMC Darryl Moss received the memorandum on behalf of the Tshwane mayor. He promised to meet with the mayor the same afternoon to “personally hand over the memorandum to him” Mashiane claimed the metro did not take the group’s…
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