TIGANE, North West — Facing a severe Matlosana unemployment crisis, residents of Tigane and Hartbeesfontein converged on the local municipality offices to deliver a formal memorandum of demands and multiple boxes filled with CVs directly to Mayor Fikile Mahlophe’s administration.
The early morning gathering was organized as a stark visual representation of the economic desperation gripping the community. With a township population exceeding 36,000 residents, local employment opportunities are virtually nonexistent. Community leaders pointed out that Supreme Poultry remains the area’s largest employer, yet it hires fewer than 1,500 people. This leaves tens of thousands of residents without formal income, forcing heavy reliance on government R350 social grants.
Community spokesperson Sipho emphasized that this widespread joblessness extends far beyond financial hardship. Sipho noted that the lack of work severely impacts psychological well-being and actively fuels secondary social crises, including substance abuse, excessive alcohol consumption, and rising crime rates in the area.
The decision to stage the handover followed a frustrating week of communication breakdowns with municipal leadership. According to Sipho, community representatives emailed and called the executive mayor’s office earlier in the week, requesting confirmation by Friday on whether a designated official would receive the memorandum if the mayor was unavailable.
Tum recounted that a staff member in the mayor’s office responded in an “extremely rude” manner, dismissing the inquiry by stating that Mayor Fikile Mahlophe was out of town attending to political matters and had explicitly instructed his team that he “should not be disturbed.”
“We made it clear to the lady that we are not the mayor’s staff members,” Tum stated. “That rule about him not being disturbed only applies to the people he hired in his office, not to us, the residents of this community.”
Although the executive mayor did not appear in person, a local ward councilor arrived at the scene, stating he had been directly instructed by the mayor to accept both the memorandum and the boxes of CVs on his behalf.
Compounding the community’s economic anxiety is the prolonged silence surrounding local mining operations, which were once heralded as a major solution to youth unemployment. A ward councilor who has been working alongside a local collective of business-minded investors, addressed the crowd regarding the fate of the Shiva uranium mines.
Previously owned by the Gupta family, the mining assets are now under the management of Recon Mining. However, despite promises made to the community last year about incoming investment and job creation, residents have received zero feedback.
“We are now in the eighth month of the year, and there is still no feedback,” Councilor Pakis highlighted, expressing deep frustration over the lack of transparency. “We do not know what is happening behind those doors, which is why we decided to take this initiative to demand the truth.”
By physically delivering their resumes to the municipal offices, the residents of Tigane and Hartbeesfontein are issuing a unified challenge to local authorities: provide immediate clarity on the Recon Mining developments and implement tangible strategies to resolve the region’s critical employment emergency.
