The right to protest is at the foundational values of SA’s constitution which allows citizens to stand up for their rights and effect positive change.
It is one of the fruits of a democratic system that gives people freedom to gather and petition their government whenever they are unhappy.
In fact, the democratic dispensation was won partly by acts of taking to the streets.
At the same time, the increasing number of protests which have become a common feature in our daily lives suggests people have lost trust in the political system. It indicates a society that is increasingly restless with the failures of those leaders that were elected to govern.
Protests, therefore, have become the only language that communities use to communicate their message of frustration to the government if they want their needs addressed.
We see this in the level of frustration that is on display when protesters often blockade roads and attempt to stop economic activity from happening until their issues are dealt with. We don’t condone violence, but we share their frustrations and desire to demand better from their leaders.
According to Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela, releasing the fourth quarter provincial crime statistics yesterday, there were 630 protests reported in three months in the province.
Across the country this figure is even more alarming at 2,724 protests in the same period.
Mawela characterised the period between January and March as “a season of discontent”. He told MPLs in the Gauteng legislature that the service delivery protests “remain the core diversion of our resources” from crime combating as police officers are often expected to quell the unrests.
The reality is that police can only do so much to restore law and order. In the long run they cannot prevent the recurrence of protests at the core of which are service delivery failures.
If demonstrating is one way of making one’s voice heard, then the government has been tone deaf in its reaction to protests by simply sending police to clear the rubble and engendering a false sense of peace.
The overdue reckoning is why people continue to demonstrate day after day demanding services they were meant to get decades ago.
SOWETAN | Protests show anger to leaders
Image: Antonio Muchave
The right to protest is at the foundational values of SA’s constitution which allows citizens to stand up for their rights and effect positive change.
It is one of the fruits of a democratic system that gives people freedom to gather and petition their government whenever they are unhappy.
In fact, the democratic dispensation was won partly by acts of taking to the streets.
At the same time, the increasing number of protests which have become a common feature in our daily lives suggests people have lost trust in the political system. It indicates a society that is increasingly restless with the failures of those leaders that were elected to govern.
Protests, therefore, have become the only language that communities use to communicate their message of frustration to the government if they want their needs addressed.
We see this in the level of frustration that is on display when protesters often blockade roads and attempt to stop economic activity from happening until their issues are dealt with. We don’t condone violence, but we share their frustrations and desire to demand better from their leaders.
According to Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela, releasing the fourth quarter provincial crime statistics yesterday, there were 630 protests reported in three months in the province.
Across the country this figure is even more alarming at 2,724 protests in the same period.
Mawela characterised the period between January and March as “a season of discontent”. He told MPLs in the Gauteng legislature that the service delivery protests “remain the core diversion of our resources” from crime combating as police officers are often expected to quell the unrests.
The reality is that police can only do so much to restore law and order. In the long run they cannot prevent the recurrence of protests at the core of which are service delivery failures.
If demonstrating is one way of making one’s voice heard, then the government has been tone deaf in its reaction to protests by simply sending police to clear the rubble and engendering a false sense of peace.
The overdue reckoning is why people continue to demonstrate day after day demanding services they were meant to get decades ago.
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