The ANC Youth League in Mahikeng, North West, has blamed the service delivery protest under way on “third forces” which sought to undermine the governing party before the elections.
The “young lions” said the community needed to think carefully about the intentions of those who were behind the protest.
Motebang Mohlomi, the ANCYL spokesperson, said the fact that the protest was being led by faceless individuals meant that they wanted a regime change.
“With less than three weeks before the elections, there is more to what meets the eye. The leaderless protests can only mean that there are dark forces that want to destabilise the democratic system of electing the leadership of the republic.
“These forces know for a fact that the ballot is mightier than the bullet, hence disruption at all costs. While we believe the Constitution gives birth to a myriad rights, one of them being the right to freedom of assembly and protest, this doesn’t guarantee the freedom to disrupt public order, destroy public property and infringe a whole lot of other rights,” Mohlomi said.
He said that the legislation prescribed how to proceed with protest action.
Mahikeng residents have been protesting for more than two months over the lack of service delivery by the municipality.
Residents have been without water and have been subjected to power outages in some areas.
Tsholofelo Moleko, from Mahikeng, said the municipality did not want to take responsibility for its actions and failures to provide the community with basic services.
“When we speak out here, we are being victimised and accused of wanting to overthrow the government. I really don’t understand what we have to do to voice our concerns as residents,” Moleko said.
Municipality spokesperson, Johnny Nkoana, did not respond to The Star’s enquiries at the time of publication.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) secretary general Yongama Zigebe said it was unfortunate that residents had to embark on a protest to get services.
Zigebe also expressed the party’s concern over the police using excessive force against protesters.
He said the use of rubber bullets to quell the protests was unacceptable. “How soon will it be before live rounds are used and we will have another Marikana on our hands?”
“Moreover, on June 6, 2020, the South African Human Rights Commission expressed its concern with the rising number of cases of law enforcement officers overstepping their mark.
“The residents say they have had complaints for many years, but that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
“ The organisers of the shutdown say the protest will continue, and that all roads leading to the central business district will remain barricaded.
“The primary concerns relate to the poor condition of roads, inadequate stormwater management, and the accumulation of rubbish in their neighbourhoods,” the UDM secretary-general said.
According to Zigebe, residents said these issues have been neglected for far too long and were having a detrimental impact on their daily lives.
“Lack of service delivery is not unique to Mahikeng, it is rampant across the country. In our highly unequal post-apartheid context, underprivileged South African communities bear the brunt of poor basic service delivery, particularly where water, sanitation and electricity are concerned.
“In the first half of 2023 alone, there were 122 service delivery protests across the country. The United Democratic Movement is concerned that service delivery is only made a national focus during election times, where it is partnered with elaborate empty promises.”
The Star