Business owners and residents in Mbombela and surrounding areas awoke to fresh protests that left major routes, including the N4 highway linking South Africa to Mozambique, blockaded by trucks on Wednesday.
Protesters staged the road blockade to demonstrate against rising fuel prices which hit record highs overnight as the government raised the price of petrol, diesel and other fuel in the latest bout of price hikes in recent weeks.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) increased the price of 95ULP petrol by R2.57 a litre, which pushed the price to R26.74 a litre in Gauteng, while an increase of R2.37 to 93ULP pushed this fuel price to R26.31 a litre. The latest petrol price hikes were announced on Monday as the government slashed the fuel levy reprieve by 75 cents, which exacerbated the latest increases.
The protesters began the blockades between Mbombela, 350 kilometres east of Johannesburg, and White River at around midnight, by parking their trucks across the N4 highway. The N4 links Mbombela to the Mozambican border and the Port of Maputo. Taxis also joined in the protests, blocking some roads, while groups of protesters on foot were also spotted at the scene of the blockades.
Affected roads included the intersection at the local Sasol garage, the N4 about 2km from Karino, the road outside the Police Station in Bester Street, the R40 at the Bosch Street offramp and Andrew Street. News of the protest broke first on Twitter, with several posters supporting the demonstration and sharing information about the blockade using the #NationalShutdown.
@Rama_Molefe Tweeted: “Most people in Nelspruit use buses to commute to work and as a result the taxi industry is greatly affected. The constant fuel hikes is slowly killing the taxi industry in Nelspruit. So I'm not surprised they decided to wake up this morning and block all roads leading to town.”
@VictressMthethw Tweeted: “#NationalShutdown Situation right now in Nelspruit people are tired of the prices hikes, all Roads are closed off no one is coming in or going out.”
A post shared widely on WhatsApp on Wednesday also noted the road blockades: “The road closure situation between Nkomazi and the rest of the Lowveld is essentially unchanged, with routes to Nelspruit blocked. Barberton is also reported as blocked, ruling out that as an alternate route. N4 is blocked at Matsulu and Kanyamazane junctions and both crossings at Karino, which rules out Boulders-Mara as an alternative.”
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Selvy Mohlala earlier said truck drivers had parked their vehicles, blocking the road, and left with the keys. He said police were working to remove the vehicles and redirecting traffic to avoid the protests
The latest protest action follows a strike by Maputo bus drivers who staged a demonstration on Monday after the price of diesel rose 11% and the petrol price increased by 4.4%. The protest ended after the Mozambican government promised to subsidise bus fares.