Violent public protests reversing government's success record
Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements Ntombi Mekgwe has issued a stern warning to communities to stop torching public facilities during protest actions as the replacement value of such facilities is escalating and making it difficult for government to rebuild immediately. The delays in rebuilding of such facilities could results in communities being seriously disadvantaged for many years to come.
MEC Mekgwe’s statement comes in the wake of ongoing provincial assessments which estimate damage to public property to be around R65 million. The amount is set to rise due to outstanding reports and ongoing trends.
MEC Mekgwe further commented: “Whilst we understand the public’s right to peaceful protests, the torching of public buildings is a crime. It is illegal, unacceptable and has to stop immediately. If it continues we will reach a stage where all facilities in our societies are ruined to the detriment of us as a people. These violent protest actions have also reversed key successes achieved over the years and add further financial strain to the provincial coffers.”
MEC Mekgwe further said as the provincial government assesses the losses and implications of these damages, it is becoming very clear that the consequences of such violent service delivery protest action will have long-term negative effects to the affected communities. This is mainly because funds needed to rebuild torched public buildings are not budgeted for and could result in most communities waiting for years to regain services.”
In Bekkersdal alone, the costs of the damaged properties are estimated at R20 million. This include the destruction of the community hall, gymnasium, council offices, business hub, clinic, local business training centre, farmer support centre and the Multipurpose centre (MPCC).
Some of these buildings (MPCC, local business centre, farmer support centre and information hub) had been torched before and had just been restored last year at a cost of R4.5 million. Not long after the restorations they were destroyed for the second time during the recent protests.
The Multi-purpose Centre is being torched for the third time. “This time the damage is so devastating that we will never be able to restore it again. We have no choice but to demolish the entire structure,’’ commented a heart-broken project manager on site.
The Multipurpose centre housed various government departments such as Home Affairs, Health and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), and the local Emergency Services. The South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) also had an office.
Each department had officials working in the centre providing services to the community. The centre was always frequented by the youth, job seekers, young mothers, the elderly and many members of the community wanting to apply for identity documents, birth certificates, and death registrations or just to access social grants. Now that the centre is no more, the community is now forced to travel to town in Randfontein and to find money to spend on transport.
The local Emergency Service has also been relocated, something which could affect the response time for emergencies in the township. Incidents such as shack-fires and other day-to-day emergencies are common place and the strategic location of the Emergency Services greatly benefited the community.
Youngsters who were also receiving training on courses such as brick laying, welding, computer and business skills will also be left our following the destruction of the Local Business Centre.
“These strategic projects, contrary to the view of some commentators, assisted in empowering the community, created jobs and income for local citizens and were also used to the benefit of the community at large. This was part of the Bekkersdal Urban Renewal Programme intended to provide programmes to uplift the social and economic circumstance of the area,” concluded MEC Mekgwe.
For more information contact:
Motsamai Motlhaolwa
Cell: 079 897 2240
Tel: 011 355 4873
