Community protest fails to halt matric exams in the Eastern Cape

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 Eastern Cape police stepped in to break up a protest that threatened to delay the start of the matric exams in Nqamakwe.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education says the timely intervention of the police did not have an impact on the delivery of exam papers to schools in the area.

Department spokesperson, Mali Mtima, says all went well on day one of the 2013 matric exams.

Twenty six people were arrested on charges of public violence.

Meanwhile, DA MPL, Veliswa Mvenya, says residents of two wards of the Mnquma Municipality who were involved in the blockade of the road between Butterworth and Ngqamakhwe spent Sunday night in rainy and cold conditions at the roadside in an attempt to highlight their dissatisfaction with the lack of service delivery in their area.

She says wards 13 and 14 are said to be no-go areas for opposition parties.

Mvenya says residents there do not have access to clean water and electricity and job opportunities are scarce.