Residents from three towns in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality have threatened to shut down a major solar power plant under construction, alleging systematic economic exclusion and the preferential hiring of workers from other provinces.
The angry community members from Virginia, Ventersburg, and Hennenman picketed at the project site between Ventersburg and Virginia on Tuesday to hand over a memorandum of demands. They are calling on the project’s management to prioritize local hiring, claiming the solar facility has the potential to create over 800 jobs.
Protest organizers assert that local applicants are being deliberately sidelined for general work positions, while people from provinces like Limpopo are brought in under the pretext of being skilled workers. The residents have vowed to maintain a picket at the site until their demands are addressed.
One resident, who participated in the protest, shared a personal account of frustration. “I went for medical tests on the 6th of November and passed all of them. But even today, I’ve still not received a call to be inducted,” he said. “I’m staying at home while buses from Limpopo come here with people who are going to work here.”
Protesters argue that the project, situated in their community, should first benefit locals who are struggling with poverty and unemployment. “Other than [for] general labors, you can’t get people from Limpopo, from [other provinces] to come and dig the ground when we have people who can dig the ground here. We think it is not fair. We think the project is meant for people of Virginia,” a spokesperson for the protesters stated.
The community’s dissatisfaction extends to local government. Organizers say their pleas to the Matjhabeng Local Municipality have “fallen on deaf ears,” prompting them to call for the intervention of Free State Premier, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae.
The management of the solar power plant was not immediately available for comment following the protest.
The standoff highlights escalating tensions over local economic benefits from large-scale infrastructure projects, with residents insisting that promised job opportunities must not pass them by.