South African Government Denounces Violent Protests
The
South African government says it will no longer
tolerate violence and destruction of property that
have accompanied nationwide protests against a lack
of basic services in townships.
President Jacob Zuma says there is no cause in a
democratic and free society, however legitimate, to
justify the wanton destruction of property and
violence that the country have witnessed.
"This government will not tolerate the destruction
of property, the violence and the intimidation that
often accompanies protests," he said.
Zuma was speaking on Tuesday at a special meeting
attended by mayors of the country's 283
municipalities.
Political demands
Protests over poor infrastructure in townships have
increased pressure on Zuma to meet campaign promises
to improve the lives of millions of black South
Africans still living in poverty 15 years after the
end of apartheid.
Police last week fired teargas and rubber bullets to
break up protests in several townships. Protesters
blockaded roads with burning barricades and have
also burned down libraries and the homes of local
government officials.
Zuma said South African towns and cities were at the
forefront of providing basic services such as
sanitation, electricity and water, but were weakened
by poor financial management, corruption and
political battles for control of resources.
Reforms required
Since the end of apartheid in 1994, progress has
been made in providing these services to millions of
South Africans, Zuma said. "But it is also true that
significant backlogs remain.
It is clear that we need to do more,
and that we need to do things differently…Many
municipalities are bankrupt, many people are
unemployed and cannot pay for services which means
revenue collection is stagnant and the tax base has
shrunk," Zuma explained.
He said fundamental changes were needed to reform
governance in municipalities, including separating
the executive functions from administrative ones.
"We should emerge here with a common understanding
and commitment to do everything we can to effect a
turnaround in local government," Zuma said.
But he said the global economic
crisis and South Africa's first recession since
1992, were hurting the government's attempts at
improving the lives of the poor.
REUTERS/Yinka