Violent service delivery protests a cancer

VIOLENT protests in South Africa date back to the apartheid era and, ironically, they continue to characterise the new dispensation.

In the past, they were largely directed at the apartheid regime, which did not heed peaceful demonstrations against the injustice meted out to the majority in this country.

Such peaceful protests resulted in bloodshed as the minority regime was hell-bent on maintaining the status quo, which benefited the few. The peace-loving masses were left with no choice but to embark on militant means to get the regime to listen.

The country was made ungovernable and the masses did not relent, despite states of emergencies which resulted in innumerable freedom fighters being eliminated.

They wanted nothing but freedom, and their heroism and determination gave birth to the democratic elections in 1994.

It is worrying that the new dispensation is now plagued by violent so-called service delivery protests characterised by damage to state property.

In many parts we have seen newly built and state-of-the-art libraries, government offices, schools and clinics being torched by irate members of the community.

This behaviour is tantamount to spitting in the face of a democratic government that is spending millions to bring service delivery to the doorsteps of those neglected by the old order. Many have forgotten that making long journeys to get government service was the order of the day during apartheid.

We have seen unrest since 2004, with a dramatic surge in 2008. This coincided with the xenophobic violence directed at foreign nationals from which our city was not spared .

We are not saying the new order is not infallible. Mistakes have been made, but our municipality and the government in general have rolled out quality service delivery.

We also have an open door policy where people are free to air their service delivery grievances without fear of being arrested or reprimanded.

In ethekwini Municipality, a week hardly passes without roads being blocked, forcing law-abiding residents to seek an alternative route to their destinations because certain residents are demanding service delivery in many areas of development.

This has resulted in many of our residents arriving late at work, with the economy bearing the brunt of this undesirable situation – to the detriment of the city’s efforts to create much-needed job opportunities we all want.

Recently, the city had its hands full dealing with land invaders whose conduct resulted in the city having to seek the help of the Durban High Court to get a court order to evict them after they cleared bush at Mary Thipe Road in Manor Gardens to build informal dwellings.

One of the reasons they were advancing was that they had been waiting for too long for free houses to be provided. So they decided to break the law and invade municipal land earmarked for a new development.

Residents from the suburb of Manor Gardens were calling the city non-stop in desperation, demanding that we quickly remove the land-grabbers.

They feared their properties would be devalued after they had invested a fortune in them. But legal processes stipulated in the 1998 Unlawful of Occupation of Land Act need to be adhered to before we evict.

After getting a green light from the high court, we acted expeditiously.

Truth be told, the area of Cato Crest has become a noose around the city’s neck.

This is one area in the city where billions have been spent to clear age-old shacks, but this development exercise appears to be a moving target because shack landlords make money there.

Despite us building houses, the shacks never cease to mushroom. With a shoestring budget, the city has done a lot of work in this area and the evidence of that is there for everyone to see.

With this excellent service delivery record, we have become a victim of our own success.

ethekwini Municipality is head and shoulders above the rest in the country. It has built more than 200000 houses that provide shelter to more than a million people since 1994 and this unrest is not going to distract us from our undertaking. We will continue to serve our people with distinction even under inclement circumstances.

It is public knowledge that we recently bought land worth more than R300million on which to build new houses.

We have also provided electricity, running water and decent sanitation to existing informal settlements that we have not yet been cleared.

Anyone is welcome to conduct an inspection in this regard to ascertain the veracity of these facts.

The recent torching of the offices of the KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs was very disturbing. It gives credence to the narrative that our communities are being misled by certain leaders advocating the invasion of vacant land so that they can score cheap political points.

More than R17million in damage was caused. An investigation is under way as to what led to the inferno.

It is suspected this barbaric act is related to the unrest that has come to characterise the Cato Crest area.

A few days ago, innocent citizens had to navigate roads littered with rubble and burning tyres allegedly put there by a community protesting against the demolition of their illegally built shacks.

It should be noted that no amount of protests and intimidation will result in the city bending over backwards to allow lawlessness to reign.

We also have a responsibility to protect the rights of our ratepayers and law-abiding citizens, and we are unshaken.

The disaster that occurred at the Co-operative Governance offices was the last straw. Working with the police’s crime intelligence unit, we are optimistic that we will eventually nab all those responsible for inciting our communities to embark on these violent service delivery protests.

We want to set an example that will send a clear message to all wouldbe law-breakers that we are not a banana municipality.

We appeal to anyone with information that could lead to the arrests of those responsible for setting alight the Co-operative Governance offices to be good citizens and come forward .

Please work with our law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits responsible for this illicit act.

The department has set aside a R100000 reward for anyone who can furnish the police with credible information that will result in arrests.