Issued by: Ministry of Transport
5 SEPTEMBER 1995
I have approached the Minister of Safety and Security and can confirm that he is instructing the SA Police Services to physically lift the blockade. I am also taking steps to ensure that traffic officers and the law enforcement agencies take action against those involved in the blockade.
Our constitution assures all citizens the right to protest and I shall always defend this right. But I believe that the drivers involved in this blockade are abusing this right. Instead of engaging with their employers and protesting in a peaceful manner at their places of employment, these blockades are directed against the State and the public who use these roads.
I also believe that those engaged in the blockade represent a minority of the drivers. The Transport and General Workers Union has indicated that it has received its dispute with its employers. I have recently met representatives of some of the drivers and they agreed with me that blockading the national roads was an incorrect means of pursuing their industrial disputes.
In view of the above, I am looking to the law enforcement agencies to lift the blockade and ensure that those involved are firmly dealt with within the law.
Issued by: Elsa Kruger, Ministerial Liaison Officer Tel 021 45-7260