On Monday 16 January 2023, residents of Parys took to the streets to protest over service delivery issues. This follows the recent electricity price hike announced by Nersa, coupled with the rolling blackouts that spurred a call for a national shutdown.

The spokesperson for the provincial police, Josephine Rani, said that schools were closed and pupils were sent home as protests escalated.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Free State's Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sello Dithebe, says that the MEC, Mxolisi Dukwana, has condemned what he terms "a cowardly attack by arsonists" on the parents of Mthombeni. 

"MEC Dukwana sympathises and empathises with concerns about service delivery. However, the MEC finds no justification for violent attacks on councillors or their families or next of kin. As a result, MEC Dukwana calls on the police to apprehend the perpetrators of this cowardly act, which violates the freedom and security of the Executive Mayor's parents," adds Dithebe.

ALSO READ: Protests erupt in Free State towns

Residents of Kroonstad also marched to the headquarters of the Moqhaka Local Municipality to hand over a memorandum of demand.

The municipality's spokesperson, Dika Kheswa, said that residents raised issues of water and sanitation, electricity costs, residential sites, youth development, and SMME developments. The municipality has since been given seven days to respond. while the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) has also started the #AsinamaliProtestAction on Monday 16 January 2023. 

OFM News