Thank you!
This happened yesterday and family members who live in Nelspruit were caught by surprise. Is this a test run? Take note, in one of the images it mentions that a police station was blocked.
“Shutdown is on: Take a look at roads currently closed”
https://www.ghanamma.com/za/2022/07/06/shutdown-is-on-take-a-look-at-roads-currently-closed/
July 6, 2022
Motorists are urged to avoid the N4 in Mbombela. Taxi drivers in Mbombela have blocked the N4 highway and several routes using trucks in protest over the fuel price hike. Mpumalanga Police say eight people have been arrested. Nelspruit don’t strike on social media. All roads coming out of townships closed and roads going into the town of Mbombela on lockdown.
While for other the National Shutdown is all about lashing out on Twitter, some people are actually acting on it. It looks like Mbombela will be the only City standing for South Africans? As we speak some roads in Mbombela, Tekatakho have been closed. Residents are protesting about electricity and petrol prices. The protest is supported by the taxi industry. Taxi drivers have warned everyone participating in the strike that looting will not be tolerated. They only want to make their voices heard, not to turn the protest into a looting spree that will only have a negative impact in the community.
According to police, the protestors woke up the truck drivers who had parked next to the road and ordered them to block the roads and took away their keys. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes. Various roads have been blocked in Mbombela and surrounding areas KaBokweni, Tekatakho, N4 Ngodwana, N4 Matsulu intersection, Kaapmuiden, R38 intersection. R40 towards Barberton is open and Kapsehoop. Below are all the roads that are currently closed:
Social media users are currently praising Mbombela for taking the lead, hoping other cities will follow suit. Meanwhile, Santaco says they will not be taking part in the protest. They should be worried about Mbombela taxi drivers who are saying enough is enough. People are feeling the pinch of the petrol price. On Wednesday fuel prices went up again. A litre now costs more that an hourly rate for some employees. How is our government expecting people to cope? Citizens have lashed out at Santaco for refusing to be part of the shutdown, saying these taxi drivers and owners are trying to please President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We are ready to go to the streets, however Santaco which used to be independent during Mbeki and Zuma era is refusingto join us. They could stand in unite with citizens but now they appear to be captured. We don’t know if their source of income now comes from Cyril Ramaphosa.
Other people plan to join Mbombela
Meanwhile, other people on Twitter are saying they are planning to join Mbombela. “We must group ourselves into regions or Towns, then we block everything, but we must be uniform in our motion, Peace won’t help us”, a Twitter user said.
How is the situation in your area?
“Donderdag, 7 Julie 2022. Is ons gereed? [Are we ready?]”
https://youtu.be/1tGyMLzzV5Q
“National shutdown on Thursday, 7 July 2022: Here are the latest updates [video]”
https://swisherpost.co.za/viral/national-shutdown-thursday-7-july-2022-road-closures/
7 July 2022
The national shutdown gains momentum as Richards Bay joins Mbombela. Here are the latest updates.
It seems, after all, the national shutdown is not a social media trend.
Who is behind the national shutdown in Mpumalanga?
What started as a hashtag morphed into full-blown protests that broke out in some parts of Mpumalanga, on Wednesday.
Major routes in Mbombela and Nelspruit were closed off by an unknown group of drivers who illegally parked heavy-duty trucks and taxis in the middle of the N4 highway, which connects Mpumalanga to Maputo to the north, and Johannesburg to the south.
Key entry points to the Kruger National Park (KNP), a popular tourist destination, were also blocked by protesters. While no official civic organisation has come forward to claim responsibility of the national shutdown, it’s believed the group has taken to the streets in response to the recent petrol price increases for July 2022.
In a statement to News24, however, police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala claims taxi drivers are behind the shutdown, and that trucks are being forced to partake in the unrest.
“Taxi drivers are the ones behind the shutdown, but they used trucks to get their point across. Truck drivers were forced to park on the side of the road. What they [the suspects] would do is knock on the side of the truck and instruct the truck driver to park on the road,” Mohlala revealed.
The police confirmed that 15 arrests were made in Mpumalanga’s shutdown, on Wednesday.
Here’s where the shutdown is taking place on Thursday, 7 July 2022
However, this has done nothing to ease tensions, since more road closures linked to the national shutdown were reported in these parts of the province on Thursday:
 R536 route, near KNP (between Hazyview and the park’s Phabeni gate)
 R535 route, turn-off to Graskop
 Pienaar region in Ehlanzeni
 Lihawu region in Mbombela
In Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), protests linked to the national shutdown broke out on Thursday morning. Here are the latest updates on road closures and routes to avoid:
 N3 highway on ramp from Cliffdale/Peacevale eastbound. All lanes blocked
 N2 northbound, 3.5km after ramp from Umhlanga southbound. Lanes blocked
 N3 highway eastbound after ramp to Peter Brown Drive. Multiple lanes blocked.
 N3 Northbound Between Cato Ridge I/C and Umlaas Road.
 R34 highway at the N2 intersection. All lanes blocked
 eSikhaleni/N2 intersection closed off to traffic by heavy-duty trucks