DA strongly condemns looting and vandalising of property by protesters

27 June 2017

The DA strongly condemns the vandalising of the Benoni fire station and shops in the Benoni CBD, as well as the looting in shops and stoning of cars in both Benoni and Actonville by protesters yesterday.

Failure of service delivery has resulted in wide-spread protests by the residents across the province.

The DA blames the ANC-led administration in Gauteng for failing to address housing backlogs and corruption in housing allocations particularly in the Etwatwa, Wattville and Emangleni informal settlements in Ekurhuleni.

Our people are angry and tired of the ANC’s empty promises.

The uncaring ANC-led administration was unavailable to address the protesters yesterday or to accept their memorandum, which further fuelled the anger of protesters.

Moreover, a lack of police intelligence left the residents of Actonville vulnerable with no law enforcement protection when all police members were moved to the Benoni CBD to monitor the situation there. Actonville was thus open to looting when the protesters moved there later in the day.

The DA believes that everyone has the right to express their dissatisfaction through legal protests, however it does not give them the right to vandalise property and loot shops. Such actions are criminal should be condemned in the strongest terms.

Issued by Michele Clarke, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Community Safety, 27 June 2017