July 16, 2021
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday he would not allow “anarchy and mayhem” to prevail and suggested that a wave of looting and arson that has destroyed hundreds of businesses had been deliberately provoked.
Ramaphosa said his government was doing all it could to deal with the unrest that has killed more than 100 people in the past week.
The violence had severely dented investor confidence and hit South Africa’s economic recovery, he said, speaking in Ethekwini Municipality, which includes the port city Durban, one of the worst-hit areas.
“We will not allow anarchy and mayhem,” Ramaphosa said.
In a presentation to a parliamentary committee, police said that looting of malls and stores was still going on and foreign-owned shops were being hit.
Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal provinces were still volatile, and crowds had gathered in Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces, they said. Kawzulu-Natal’s main airport, King Shaka International, was also targeted, police said.
The long-term social and economic cost of the unrest was also becoming clearer, with calls for the government to address underlying problems to head off more violence and despair.
The rioting broke out in several parts of the country following the jailing of Ramaphosa’s predecessor, Jacob Zuma, last week for his failure to appear at a corruption inquiry.
It swiftly degenerated into looting and destruction, driven by widespread anger over the poverty and inequality that persist nearly three decades after the end of white minority rule.
Ramaphosa said it was quite clear the incidents were “instigated” and “we are after these people”. He did not specify whom.
He noted that security agencies had identified a number of people suspected of instigating violence this week in South Africa and that his government would not allow “anarchy and mayhem” to prevail.
Ramaphosa made the remarks when he visited Ethekwini Municipality, which includes the port city of Durban, one of the worst-hit areas in a week of looting that destroyed hundreds of businesses and killed more than 100 people.
“We obviously as a government are extremely concerned at what happened here and we are doing everything to deal with it, and it’s quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated,” Ramaphosa said.
“We will not allow anarchy and mayhem to unfold in our country,” he said, adding that 25,000 soldiers would be deployed to flashpoints soon, up from 10,000 troops now.
He said the instigators had been identified and would be pursued by security agencies. One alleged instigator has already been arrested, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.
Calm was returning in parts of the main commercial city Johannesburg, even though most shops remain closed, and operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay were improving
The rioting broke out in several parts of the country following the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma last week for his failure to appear at a corruption inquiry.
Ramaphosa also said he was concerned about rising racial tensions in some parts of the country.
He also expressed concern about rising racial tensions in some parts of the country. Some white minority and Indian communities – who are generally better off than the Black community – had armed themselves to fight off rioters.
The military has called up all its reservists to bolster the army and police, with a total of 25,000 troops available to go to flashpoints.
The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant General Rudzani Maphwanya, addressing soldiers in Alexandra, Johannesburg, said: “It is no longer just thuggery, this is economic sabotage… It is a threat to our people so you have to restore that freedom.
“You don’t have to lower your guns.”
The official death toll stood at 91 in KwaZulu-Natal, and 26 in Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg, making a total of 117.
The ransacking of stores has left food and other essentials in short supply as businesses struggled to get up and running again.
State logistics group Transnet said operations at Durban and Richards Bay ports were improving though road closures and fuel and food shortages were constraining its supply chain. Richards Bay had cleared all its shipping backlogs.
Retailer Massmart said protesters had looted 41 of its stores and two distribution centres, with four sites badly damaged by arson.
The government has characterised the violence as criminality.
But the Nelson Mandela Foundation – a legacy of the late leader of the anti-apartheid struggle and South Africa’s first Black president – said violence had been growing at “disturbing levels” in the last two decades and was now regarded as normal.
The state has focused on strengthening law enforcement but neglected strategies to tackle the problems’ roots, it said.
“There are too many people feeling discarded and in despair, too many people with nothing to lose, too many people who have seen political and other elites at all levels play fast and loose with the law, with impunity,” the foundation said.
This would lead to even more unemployment, he said. Most of the people in the streets were youths with few job prospects and limited education opportunities.
“There is no doubt that this generation is bound from birth to death with poverty and unemployment,” he said.
Half of South Africans live below the official poverty line and unemployment stood at a record 32% in the first three months of 2021, due partly to the impact of COVID-19.
Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying an order to give evidence at a judicial inquiry probing high-level graft during his time in office from 2009 to 2018.
He has pleaded not guilty in a separate case on charges including corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering, saying he is the victim of a political witch-hunt.
His downfall has opened up a power struggle within the African National Congress (ANC), in power since the end of apartheid in 1994. Zuma loyalists make up the strongest faction opposed to Ramaphosa.
REUTERS
