Protests as fair gets into swing at City of Saints

[caption id="attachment_39632" align="alignright" width="405"] UNSCHEDULED EVENT: Samwu members protest in Grahamstown's High Street yesterday as the festival began. Picture: JUDY DE VEGA[/caption]

A GROUP of nearly 500 Makana municipal workers who started striking yesterday have vowed to take to the streets every day until their grievances are addressed.

As the National Arts Festival began, members of the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) spent hours singing, dancing and toyi-toying outside the City Hall in Grahamstown yesterday.

They want officials they accuse of mismanaging funds to adhere to demands detailed in a memorandum of understanding.

The protesters marched from Bathurst Street to High Street, stopping in front of a barrier erected by police just a few metres away from where festivalgoers were milling around the streets.

Samwu Makana chairman Zola Kolisi said the union members were not there to disrupt the festival but to get their grievances across. - Thulani Gqirana and David MacGregor