/ 14 September 2007

The travelling protesters

Public protests around service delivery are being used as a tool to advance political aspirations, analysts and government officials claim.

The Cabinet subcommittee for governance has been tasked with investigating the recent spate of violent service-delivery protests, while the Public Protector has also taken it upon himself to find the causes of the escalating violence. This month waves of violent protests have been hitting Gauteng and the Western Cape, where protesting residents in Cape Town this week blockaded the N2 highway to demonstrate their unhappiness at being moved from the Joe Slovo township.

Alexandra in Johannesburg and Zeerust in the North West have seen showdowns between the government and citizens, who demand houses and sanitation. These clashes have been a feature of the South African landscape for years, but the protests now have ‘taken on another life”, says Mogomotsi Mogodisi from the South African Local Government Association (Salga).

Political agendas are being played out, Salga suggests. Protesters are being exploited by individuals wanting to gain politically or financially.

One government source says there may be a group of people moving around from one community to another inciting protests in order to portray ‘certain groups within the ANC and government in a bad light. It might be a way for certain camps to show how badly the country is being run and that leadership change is necessary.”

Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana is investigating the causes to offer solutions to the government. Mushwana has put his investigation on hold until his unit speaks to stakeholders, such as Cabinet, parliament and Salga. Government spokesperson Themba Maseko says the issues are not purely related to service delivery any more.

‘In some cases it is related to the conflict within the ruling party and shows the factions within the ruling party. Some people are politicising at a local level the conflict within the ANC and this reflects the squabble within the party.”

A view that is gaining currency in government circles is that the violent protests are being incited by the same groups of people who gather for marches in different localities.Gauteng housing spokesperson Aviva Manqa says the same people arrive for protest marches all over Gauteng.

‘You’ll see the same faces in Alex, in Protea South, and all over the province. Are you seriously telling me these people have an interest in all these localities?”

According to Manqa, organisations such as the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) use service delivery issues as a platform to discredit the government.

‘They know that elections are coming, so they want to be seen as drivers of development and want to present themselves as a replacement for government.”

As people are getting closer to elections, they want to show they can do better, says Zackie Matebesi, a professor in sociology at the University of the Free State.