Roads that were blockaded in KaBokweni, Mpumalanga, due to a protest against the lack of service delivery, have been reopened.

Police and minibus taxi operators cleared the roads of an assortment of objects that included burning tyres and stones. The objects were used to blockade the main roads in the township. The locals took to the streets demanding, among others, water provision.

The residents claim to have not had water for a long period.

Kabokweni Taxi Association Chairperson, Thulani Magagula, says residents’ concerns are genuine, but they should have been informed about the planned action to conscientise their drivers and commuters.

“As stakeholders operating around here in Kabokweni, we should have slept knowing that on such a day the roads will be closed so that we can inform our drivers and customers that we won’t transport them,” says Magagula.

He says the community has failed them because they should have informed them so that they could work together with them.

“We also live here, they are our kids. Some are our brothers who have closed the road. They are concerned about water,” he adds.

RELATED VIDEO | Naas residents protest over ’17-year-long’ water shortage: