KOMATIPOORT, Mpumalanga — A growing Nkomazi youth protest targeting RCL Foods jobs has culminated in a decisive march on the company’s Komatipoort sugar mill, where local residents demanded fair access to employment. Frustrated by prolonged exclusion from the local labor market, demonstrators walked more than two kilometers to submit a formal memorandum of grievances, marking the first step in a broader campaign for regional hiring equity.
The demonstrators have given the food processing giant 14 days to formally respond to their demands. Sibusiso Mhlanga, the march organizer, clarified that the sugar mill—operating as TSP (also referred to as TSB)—is merely the initial target due to its prominence and proximity.
“TSP is located in our sub-region Nkomazi and is the biggest firm,” Mhlanga explained. “We are not only targeting TSP, we are starting here because it’s closer to us. We have got a lot of companies that we will target, but we know TSP can have a volume and they’ve got a lot of employees in different categories and fields. That’s why we’re coming here, introducing ourselves to be known in the sub-region for what we’re capable of as a youth.”
Beyond the physical demonstration, organizers are actively building a database of unemployed young people in the area. This registry will be used to proactively forward local candidates’ names to various companies seeking workers, aiming to bypass traditional application barriers.
A central grievance driving the march is the perception that qualified locals are being systematically overlooked in favor of outsiders. One protester highlighted the emotional and financial toll of this dynamic: “Unemployment is very painful because where we thought we would get jobs, they employ people from other places and not us. We are unemployed and our families are dependent on us. My parents are old, and I’m trying to provide for the family. We are being told that we don’t want to work, but no one is employing us.”
The protester added that the company has been observed hiring individuals from as far away as Kathu and the Free State, despite a ready pool of local commerce graduates actively seeking work.
This local frustration mirrors a deteriorating macroeconomic trend. According to Statistics South Africa’s first-quarter 2026 labor force survey, Mpumalanga experienced a 4% surge in unemployment. The province’s jobless rate climbed from 32.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 36.3% in the first quarter of 2026, intensifying the competition for stable industrial work.
The statistics are felt acutely by individuals like a 34-year-old resident living just 10 minutes from the TSB facility. Despite holding qualifications in internal auditing and a National High Certificate in accountancy, the applicant has never received a single callback from the company.
“I’m worried now because I just turned 34. Next year I’m 35, which means my cut-off age is here,” the applicant pleaded. “I’d like to plead with TSB to please just give us a chance. We are not asking for charity. We just need equal jobs.”
Acknowledging the demonstration, RCL Foods corporate affairs executive Lazarus Bereda engaged directly with the group. Beda assured the protesters that the company would carefully review the submitted memorandum and provide a comprehensive response within the stipulated 14-day period.
