White residents of Hartebeespoort in the North West have denied allegations of racial tensions in the community.
This comes as black workers and business owners took to the streets on Friday to protest alleged racial discrimination and business sabotage at the hands of white people.
YNews spoke with black business owner, Eunice Matakhula, who runs a guesthouse along Hartebeespoort’s affluent dam.
She detailed the intimidation she allegedly faced from a white neighbour after purchasing the property.
Despite the guesthouse operating prior to her purchase, her neighbours were unhappy.
She says part of her property was burnt down, with the culprits still unknown.
Authorities, she claims, did nothing when she reported the incident.
However, white residents claim allegations of sabotage by black business owners are an attempt to stir unnecessary conflict.
An elderly couple highlighted instances of harmony between black and white residents, including complexes where both races live together.
Another elderly gentleman emphasised his views on race, saying: “Black people don’t bother me.”
Meanwhile, demonstrators from the Harties Shutdown Movement took their fight to the local Village Mall, which residents say has become a symbol of black dispossession.
Speaking with YNews, community leader Motape Motoke alleged that black people were forcibly removed from the land to make way for white business owners.
Motoke and his comrades have described the mall as a “graveyard for black economic dignity” and are demanding equal participation.
Black residents and business owners are adamant that systemic barriers continue to sideline black residents.
They’ve demanded immediate intervention, threatening to take to the streets again should their pleas fall on deaf ears.
Written by: Naomi Kobbie
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