MANOR LIQUORS <50;(:/3,@7(92.(930*2,(=,5<, .7:! »¹:»¹, *9,+0;(5++,)0;*(9+:(9,56>(**,7;,+ 9 9 *(:;3,30;, :40956--:4 +<470,: =6+2(= 18x340ml 7750ml :[YPJ[S`UV[YHKLYZc>LYLZLY]L[OLYPNO[[VSPTP[X\HU[P[PLZ ,HUK6,:WLJPHSZH]HPSHISLH[)HSSP[VIYHUJOVUS`6MMLYZ ]HSPKMYVT[VVY^OPSLZ[VJRZSHZ[ 5V[MVYZHSL[VWLYZVUZ\UKLY[OLHNLVM 40,000 copies free every week from Umdloti to Mandeni MON - FRI 8AM - 7PM, SAT 8AM - 5PM SUN 10:30AM - 3:30PM No 1443 Vol 33 | Tel: 032-9460276 | Fax: 032-9462430 | www.northcoastcourier.co.za | Friday, March 16, 2018 Farm access dispute sours Ray of hope for Sashni African cooking adventure Page 3 Page 7 Page 14 Pages 17 - 24 Man burned alive, 2 shot in protest Police drive angry protestors off the N2 at Groutville with rubber bullets on Tuesday morning. INSET: Traffic backed up at the Umvoti toll plaza. Sboniso Dlamini He said KDM have sent electricians out to all the by people reportedly trying to loot the shop. • Update on the 27-year-old Stanger resident affected areas. “We are confused as to why they burnt the shop. who was critically injured in a violent power A 26-year-old Ethiopian shopkeeper was burnt “A transformer failed, but we are on the ground to My heart is broken into pieces,” said Abera’s outage protest in Shaka’s Head three weeks alive and two people were shot and injured in a ensure that everything gets back on track,” said brother, Emmanual. ago. See Page 7. violent service delivery protest that began in Grout- Mkhize. Two people were also shot by a motorist on the ville on Monday night and continued throughout Protestors blocked the R102 on Monday night R102 in Groutville on Tuesday. with burning tyres, tree branches and broken bot- Monday night. Residents of Thembeni have been without elec- tles. On Tuesday morning the protest spread to the “One of the victims was a tricity since last Thursday, and Groutville and N2 highway. Police used rubber bullets on Tuesday protester and the other was Tshawini were also blacked out for several days. morning to disperse the mob of about 400 people an on-duty security guard A number of reports from the community and from the N2. Residents started to throw stones at for a nearby business. One KDM employees suggested that KDM electricians the police and threatened to stone cars. person was shot in the leg were on strike due to the cut in their overtime. They “We have had no power since Thursday and no and another in the back,” are apparently unhappy about contractors being one bothered to explain as to what went wrong and said Paul Herbst from IPSS appointed to do a job they were previously paid to when the problem will be solved. We tried to speak Medical Rescue. do. with our ward councillor Innocent Nxumalo but he KwaDukuza police Although KwaDukuza municipality media liai- avoids us,” said a Thembeni resident. spokesperson Sibusiso son officer, Sipho Mkhize denied this, he admitted Residents said they were forced to eat all their Khuzwayo said no one had that a meeting between the unions and KDM offi- refrigerated food as it was spoiling. been arrested but a case of cials was set to hopefully resolve the overtime Meanwhile, Ethiopian Adebo Abera was sleeping murder and attempted mur- issue. A source confirmed this meeting would take at his brother’ shop, Sizabantu Supermarket, near der would be opened. place on Wednesday. the Luthuli Museum when the shop was set alight A crowd gathers outside the shop were Adebo Abera was burnt alive. 2 The North Coast Courier, March 16, 2018 NEWS Going nowhere slowly on Salt Rock Road This aerial view shows how Salt Rock road is heavily congested morning and late afternoon. Allan Troskie do something to ease the traffic flow.” The apparent lack of urgency in finding a solution Dangerous intersections, narrow roads and stand- is of particular concern to the developers of the new still traffic have become hallmarks of the Salt Rock shopping centre at Mount Richmore nearing com- Road as the area continues to grow. pletion and several new housing estates, such as The question of what to do about the stretch of Zululami, which are springing up in Sheffield. With road between Mount Richmore on the one end, and all this development, traffic lights, wider roads and Tiffany’s Shopping Centre on the other, is a press- improved intersections are a non-negotiable need. ing one - and nobody seems to have any real Tiffany’s Centre manager Nicky Vorster said both answers. KDM and DoT had approved the entrance to their Motorists trying to get on and off the N2, Sasol, property. Tiffany’s, Dunkirk and Mount Richmore at peak “All development approvals, especially on main periods inch into oncoming traffic, trying to see road systems, have to be traffic compliant,” she past one another and looking for a gap into both said. lanes. “Tiffany’s, as should all developments, would not Meanwhile, hundreds of school children and have received building plan approval from the pedestrian commuters are crossing or walking municipality without these (and other) approvals along the ‘emergency lanes’ - less than a metre first being in place, as stated in the services agree- wide in many places - and taxis are stopping willy- ment between KDM and the developer.” nilly to offload passengers who join the throng, This same agreement clearly states: “All vehicu- dotted by a cyclist here and there. lar accesses and egresses to and from the external A survey of drivers caught in the morning traffic jam revealed that some sat for 45 minutes or more just taking their children to Umhlali Prep, a mere five km from Sheffield. In the midst of all this chaos three pointsmen try des- perately to control the flow of traffic, while motorists sit in their cars The Sasol/Tiffany’s intersection is dangerous and scary to navigate. wondering why traffic lights were not installed roads shall be designed and constructed, at the cost years ago. of the developer, to the satisfaction of the Provincial The Courier approached KwaDukuza munici- Department of Transport and SANRAL as well as pality, the Department of Transport (DoT), Dunkirk the municipality.” and Mount Richmore Estates, Sasol Salt Rock and This appears to be at odds with KDM’s assertion Tiffany’s Shopping Centre in an effort to find out that DoT approved development without due con- what - if any - plans were in the works for the road sideration for traffic. However, it appears as though (also called the MR330), and just as importantly, there is some overlap in the approval of develop- who approved these dangerous junctions. ments, as the road itself falls under DoT while the In a nutshell, do not hold your breath for traffic land around it is KDM’s responsibility. lights anytime soon. Both Tiffany’s and Mount Richmore’s manage- KDM media liaison Sipho Mkhize was quick to ment said they and other parties had been speaking point out that the MR330 was the DoT’s responsi- to both authorities for several years. bility. Rumours that DoT was suing KDM for “To this end, pro-active input has been conspicu- approving connecting junctions (such as those of ous by its absence even though there have been Dunkirk or Sasol) to a provincial road were vehe- many vehicular accidents and even a few tragic mently denied by both parties. losses of life,” said Vorster. However, Mkhize did say: “The DoT, in our Both also said they were more than willing to view, cannot sue the KwaDukuza municipality as play their part in whatever solution is finally they are responsible for the situation we find our- deemed appropriate. Vorster said the installation of selves in by approving development without due traffic lights at the existing intersections is most consideration. probably the first step but the relevant authorities “The DOT allowed for the developments near the were just not budging. The Courier was unable to road in question to proceed. It is on record that they obtain comment from either Sasol Salt Rock or approved all of the above developments (from a Dunkirk Estates. road infrastructure point of view) and more. Sadly, Still, the next time you are stuck in morning traf- this was without proper consideration.” fic along this road, look on the bright side: you can The DoT was not so quick to respond. Over the have a lively chat with the Jehovah’s Witnesses course of a month, the Courier contacted the who are often roadside in front of Tiffany’s, while department repeatedly to query the rumoured law- eating a handy packet of chips from the lady with suit, whose responsibility the road was, what was her snack stall right behind them; sometimes there planned and who had approved the connecting are even estate agents and you never know when it roads. might be a buyer’s market. After that, when you get Finally, DoT media liaison Mluleki Mtungwa to the junction with the Sheffield Beach Road, you said: “We are not aware of any legal processes insti- can say hi to Stan Malyon and his faithful dog, tuted by the department against KwaDukuza Lady, and perhaps buy one of his amazing bamboo municipality. Our team will be making assessments bird feeders. on the road you have spoken about to see if we can The North Coast Courier, March 16, 2018 3 NEWS Neighbours war over access road Deep trenches across the road, to reportedly prevent soil erosion, make traveling on it difficult for a SUV and impossible for smaller vehicles.