A REPORT by the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Sociological Research says
heavy-handed police action may have worsened recent service-delivery
protests.
In some
cases police reaction added to the climate of violence, according to the head of
the centre, Peter Alexander. “The evidence points to police exacerbating the
problem by the way they intervened,” he said during the launch of the report
yesterday.
The
report followed “quick- response” research in Gauteng’s Thokoza and Diepsloot
townships, and at Balfour and Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, after community
protests in the past two months.
Among
the report’s findings were that communities involved in the protests shared
similar problems and frustrations such as unemployment and lack of basic
services.
There
was no evidence of people’s demands being a campaign against President Jacob
Zuma ’s administration or the policies of the African National Congress. Rather,
protests were motivated by local-level failures.

The
report also ruled out xenophobia as a cause of the protests. “It is clear that
the four protests only occurred after unsuccessful attempts by community members
to engage with local authorities over issues of failed service delivery,” it
concluded.

Balfour
and Thokoza were singled out as places where police reaction contributed to the
violence. Alexander said police in Balfour were “very violent in terms of how
they dealt with local residents” yet none had been held responsible for their
actions.

Alexander
showed images of a 15- year-old boy, allegedly shot with rubber bullets at
point-blank range. The boy also had a deep gash at the back of the head said to
be the result of being struck with a firearm.

Nonkululeko
Mbatha, spokes- woman for police commissioner Bheki Cele, dismissed the
allegations, saying “at this stage they remain allegations unless someone
confirms it ”. She said Cele, who has pressed for strong police action, did not
say police should be trigger-happy. “They need to act within parameters of the
law.”
Luke
Sinwell, editor of the report, said service protests were the result of
systematic apartheid-era inequalities that could not be solved merely by changes
in local leadership. Replacing councillors “assumes that there are resources
available within the present policies that would adequately address the problems
,” he said.
johwaw@bdfm.co.za
Wilson
Johwa - BDFM
Published:
2009/09/03 06:25:31
AM