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The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) strongly condemns the protest action that is currently taking place on the N3 near Van Reenen. According to media reports, the road is being blocked - across all lanes - by trucks.

This stretch of road forms as essential artery between KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng, with high volumes of cargo being transported via this route daily. With our economy still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa cannot afford this type of disruption in the delivery of goods.

It is our understanding that the protestors are angered due to the employment of foreign nationals in the trucking sector and had raised the issue with the Minister of Transport. However, nothing has come of this, which has now resulted in disruptive protest action.

The IFP has raised the issue of the employment of foreign nationals on numerous occasions and is currently working on a Private Member’s Bill to ensure that South Africans and permanent residents are prioritised for employment in certain sectors.

The IFP calls upon the Ministers of Transport and Labour to attend to these grievances immediately, so that the flow of traffic and the transportation of goods can resume as soon as possible. We further call upon the relevant Premiers and MECs of Transport in KZN, Gauteng and the Free State, who are also impacted, to provide the necessary support and assistance to the Ministers.

We trust these issues will be swiftly resolved and ask all involved not to resort to violence or the destruction of property, but to air their grievances in a peaceful manner.

Issued by IFP Member on Transport Kp Sithole