Anti-poverty protests sweep South Africa

BALFOUR – Violent demonstrations against shoddy public services spread across townships in South Africa, as President Jacob Zuma’s new government yesterday warned protesters they must respect the law.

More than 120 people have been arrested this week as protesters in townships around Johannesburg and in other parts of the country stoned vehicles, set fire to buildings and looted shops.’We are not going to allow anybody to use illegal means to achieve their objective,’ said Sicelo Shiceka, the minister for local government.’We are saying this is a government that is legitimate, has been elected democratically,’ he said on Talk Radio 702.’Anything that is to be done, must be done within the law and the constitution,’ he added.Zuma took office two months ago, having campaigned to battle the crushing poverty that millions of South Africans still endure 15 years after the end of apartheid.Millions of South Africans feel they have yet to enjoy the fruits of democracy, as frustration mounts over dire housing conditions and a lack of basic services such as water and electricity.When the mayor of the farming town of Balfour, southeast of Johannesburg, tried to speak to a crowd in the eastern province of Mpumalanga late on Wednesday, his convoy was stoned and police used rubber bullets to break up the protest.’People are complaining about service delivery, houses, toilets, roads, hospitals,’ said Bednock Mashinini, a 36-year-old who works for a produce company.He said he took part in the violent protests that have rocked the Balfour township of Siyathemba for the last three days.’The municipality has promised to build residences and a police station. They have promised houses since 1994. They built some, but for friends and family,’ Mashinini told AFP.About 50 people marched through Siyathemba’s main roads yesterday, saying it was time to clean up the streets now littered with debris from burnt tires, broken glass, rocks and other blockades set during the protests.Few stores opened after reports that shops around the country had been looted, despite the heavy police presence throughout the township.Meanwhile in the port city of Durban, two grocery stores were looted Wednesday by about 100 people, mainly old women who said they were hungry.’They just ate in the shops because they were hungry. Some took some rice and maize meal. They didn’t struggle with the police. They are not criminals,’ provincial police spokesman Nozipho Mteshane told AFP.Their protest was organised by a new group calling itself the South African Unemployed People’s Movement, which is demanding free education, better public health care, and a N$1 500 monthly grant for the unemployed.Unemployment is officially at 23,5 per cent but is believed to be much higher. Zuma has promised to create 500 000 jobs this year, but the country has slipped into its first recession since apartheid, with more than 200 000 jobs lost.Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has made strides in improving housing while expanding access to clean water and electricity, building 2,8 million houses in 15 years.But more than one million families still live in shacks without power, often sharing a single tap among dozens of households. The problem is particularly acute at the moment as South Africa is at the height of winter. – Nampa-AFP