World - Africa
Updated: November 21, 2022

South Africa: Demonstrators Block Route In Protest Of Better Electricity Demand

By Rasheed Olajide Awoniyi
November 21, 2022
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Disgruntled community members in Ingogo, outside Newcastle, South Africa, have vowed to continue closing the N11 route as they demand electricity.

On Monday, a group of community people shut down the N11, which connects KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, near the Majuba Pass towards Volksrust.

The road, an essential economic route for goods movement to and from KZN, was blocked by parked vehicles, resulting in a traffic bottleneck from the Newcastle side estimated to be more than 20km long.

Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu said the protesters hijacked the trucks, took keys from the drivers and parked them across the road.

Mngomezulu stated that motorists would have to take the R34 towards Utrecht as an option.

A community member, who did not want to be identified, stated that they have been pleading with the Newcastle municipality for years to fix power shortages in the region.