Violent Protests Rock South African Cities as Elections Approach
Violent Protests Rock South African Cities as Elections Approach
(Bloomberg) -- Several South African cities have been rocked by violent demonstrations by members of poor communities angry about high local taxes, poverty and a lack of land and housing.
The protests in parts of Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg come ahead of May 8 elections, and have sparked several clashes with police. The Democratic Alliance blamed the ruling African National Congress for instigating the protests in three cities controlled by the opposition, an allegation the ANC denies.
The DA has run Cape Town for the past decade and took over Pretoria and Johannesburg, with help of smaller parties, after local elections in 2016.
“Residents from townships around Cape Town took the decision to protest the high municipal bills and especially the installation of water meters that we believe are not accurate and are making us pay more than we should,” Tower Sinana, 50, a demonstration organizer, said by phone on Thursday. “‘We had about 2,500 protesters. People are angry and they want to show this.”
The crowds used rocks, rubble and burning tires to blockade roads in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, which prevented many people from getting to work and children from attending school.
“I have little doubt that their motives are political,” Alan Winde, the provincial head of community safety and a Democratic Alliance leader, said by email. “With less than a month to go until the election, violent- and narrow-minded political parties are trying every desperate trick in the book to disrupt our communities.”
President Visit
Residents of Alexandra, a poor suburb of Johannesburg near the country’s main financial district, are demanding that the government take action to improve services and stop overcrowding and the proliferation of informal settlements in the area.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Alexandra on Tuesday, where he pledged to address the demonstrators’ concerns.
“Your message is very clear,” he told a crowd of several thousand cheering supporters. “You as people of Alexandra are sick and tired of poor service delivery. You want people who can serve you better so your lives can improve. We have heard you very clearly.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Vecchiatto in Cape Town at pvecchiatto@bloomberg.net;Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, ;Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, John Bowker, Pauline Bax
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