Operation Dudula Sekhukhune Branch launched
Jane Furse
Operation Dudula Movement have launched their Sekhukhune Regional Branch on 1 July 2023 at Jane Furse in Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM). Over 600 people from various villages in the region attended the launch.
As part of the launch, despondent members of the movement marched to hand over memorandums of demands to MLM, Jane Furse Police Station, Jane Furse Plaza and Jane Furse Crossing Shopping Centres, to express their displeasure about the influx of foreign nationals who they claim are engaged in crimes and have also taken over businesses and job opportunities in the area.
Davies Magolego, Dudula Movement Convener in Limpopo, said they decided to demonstrate to hand-over the memorandums to raise concerns about illegal businesses conducted by illegal foreigners who are concentrated in informal market in which locals were supposed to make a living.
“Those businesses include tuck shops that are rented out and occupied by foreign nationals. By law, those informal businesses are strictly reserved for South African citizens,” he said.
He said the structure was demanding the local municipality to enforce section64E (b) of South African Police Act 68 of 1995, which prompts the policing of Municipal by-laws and regulations to ensure that no illegal businesses are conducted within the municipality.
Magolego said they were demanding the municipality to promote democratic accountability and transparency in the Municipal Police Service by establishing the Civilian Oversight Committee, which will include members of council and Sekhukhune Operation Dudula as members of the structure in the communities.
He added that the members delivered a memorandum to the police to demand them to act against crime and undocumented immigrants who came in the country illegally.
“We demand permanent solution to combat crime and protect residents of Jane Furse and the entire Sekhukhune from all heinous crimes. We demand corrupt police to stop taking bribes from gangsters,” he said.
Magolego said the movement is demanding the police to conduct regular operations in accordance with section 5 of Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992, to ensure that communities are free from drugs and free from all sorts of crime including rape, murder, GBV and crime in general.
“We also demand station commander and police to act in accordance with section 41 of Immigration Act 13 of 2002 by arresting without any warrant all illegal foreigners roaming the streets of Jane Furse and Sekhukhune,” he said.
Furthermore, Magolego said Operation Dudula is calling on the local shopping centres to prioritize hiring locals and to strictly employ foreign nationals on a critical or rare skill basis and further state that the employment of foreign nationals must be on a transfer skill basis by such foreign nationals to South Africans for a prescribed period of time.
“We demand the shopping centres to put South Africans first, our youth in particular, when hiring employees .The low earning jobs must be reserved and given to South Africans. Home Affairs Ministerial Directive, which is a critical skill list, signed and gazetted on 2 February 2022 by Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, must be adhered to by the local businesses. As per Section 38 (1) of Immigration Act No 13 of 2002, local shopping centres must ensure that no illegal or undocumented foreigners are employed in their businesses,” he said.
Magolego said they expect their grievances to be responded to within 14 working days.
