The Democratic Alliance has commended Tshwane residents for cleaning the Union Buildings and surrounding areas following a strike by mineworkers.
Striking miners and artisans belonging to NUM and AMCU, who were camped outside the Union Buildings lawn for the past two weeks, have since called off the strike.
The miners were on a three-month strike action over a wage dispute and were appealing to the President for intervention.
“The Union Buildings and surrounding areas were left dirty and the Presidency, who is responsible for the upkeep of this area, did not do so,” said the party in a statement.
DA said the protesters had no access to formal ablution facilities and the City of Tshwane had to intervene and ensure that waste was collected.
Over the weekend, local residents intervened and cleaned the area themselves.
“The DA wishes to applaud all those who were involved – Ms Catherine Keyworth and her team from the Arcadia CID, volunteers from Reliable House in Hatfield and fellow DA Caucus members that stepped up.”
The party says it will engage with their counterpart in the National Government and Provincial Legislature to ensure that there are mechanisms in place to deal with the upkeep of the Union Building in cases of such strike actions and protests.
“We will also request a resolution on which spaces can be occupied and discuss solutions to avoid prolonged stand-offs in the future.”
