Media Release: Joint statement condemning violent protests and land invasions

22 July 2020

The Western Cape Government condemns violent and destructive protests and land invasions which have taken place over the past few days, which have resulted in injuries to our citizens, damage to property, and which will impact government’s ability to provide key services to our most vulnerable residents going forward.

Many of these land invasions and protests appear to be coordinated efforts by a select few to profit from these attacks and invasions.

The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements is committed to assisting those with housing needs, who have followed the procedures to register on our housing database. We will not allow those who are breaking the law and inciting violence to jump the housing queue ahead of people who have legitimate claims, and who have followed all the correct processes.

In recent days, we have seen a number of violent attacks which will impact the ability to deliver government services. These attacks impact some of our most vulnerable residents and communities and will impact service delivery for large numbers of law-abiding citizens.

Four EMS teams came under attack on Monday. One of the teams had a patient in their ambulance at the time of the attack.

A Dial-A-Ride vehicle which provides transport to disabled people in our communities was stoned, injuring passengers and damaging the vehicle.

Firefighters on their way to a fire in Khayelitsha were surrounded and their vehicle stoned. The firefighters were not seriously injured, however, damage was done to the vehicle which will now be out of commission until it can be repaired.

A refuse removal truck was set alight.

Damage to schools including the destruction of a classroom, a library and a school hall.

After attacks on its staff, Eskom has withdrawn services to certain parts of Khayelitsha and Mfuleni meaning that faults in these areas will not be attended to.

A Golden Arrow bus was petrol bombed in Mfuleni in the early hours of this morning.

The reality is that these destructive acts of violence undermine the poorest in our province. It cannot be tolerated.

Indeed, we cannot allow a small group of people to interfere with our ability to provide healthcare, emergency and other services to our people, and to interfere with the right to an education for the children of this province.

All spheres of government currently face extreme budget pressures and the cost to repair the damage caused during these protests will further impact service delivery.

Those most impacted by these actions will undoubtedly be the poor. I therefore call on anyone with information that can lead to the arrest and prosecution of the organisers to report it to the police.

I also call on the Western Cape police and law enforcement, as well as Police Minister Bheki Cele to treat these actions with the seriousness that they deserve.

The Constitution of South Africa protects the right to protest but when protests result in this level of lawlessness, and impact on other people’s rights, safety and dignity they must not only be condemned, but the participants prosecuted.

We note that many of these protests have resulted in large groups of people gathering, many without masks which is not only reckless in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but contravenes the national disaster management regulations.

We also note videos circulating which allegedly show community leaders participating in these protests, among them one of the convicted “poo throwers” whose three-year prison sentence was suspended for five years in August 2015 and which has not yet lapsed. We call on the authorities to investigate this matter further.

I have tasked Minister of Human Settlements Tertuis Simmers to determine all of the facts around these invasions.

Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz will also be meeting with SAPS provincial commissioner YolisaMatakata to discuss these criminal acts.

Please see comment below from members of the Western Cape Cabinet, whose portfolios have been impacted by these actions.

Minister Tertuis Simmers, Human Settlements:

“I condemn these illegal activities in the strongest possible terms. We will not assist or engage those who choose to illegally grab public and or private land, particularly since their aim is to jump the Housing Demand Database (HDD) queue. The criminality will not be condoned.

I appeal to residents who have a genuine housing need to register on the HDD and if they’re already registered to either verify or update their details. Residents should also use the relevant and well-established platforms such as Ward Councillors and Ward Committees to raise their concerns.

Residents should also use the relevant and well-established platforms such as the Project Steering Committees (PSCs), Ward Councillors and Ward Committees to raise their concerns.

We have clear criteria of whom we’ll assist and they include: the elderly, persons with disabilities, backyard dwellers (the Western Cape is the first province in the country to formally do this) and those longest on the waiting list (15 years and longer).

Minster Albert Fritz, Community Safety:

It is apparent that these attacks are politically motivated, and I call on this senseless politicking to cease. It is evident that a smaller group of inciters are leading these protests and pretending to speak for the masses. In doing so, they are preying on the plight of the most vulnerable in society who will suffer the infrastructure and services lost due to protest action.

I have been informed that SAPS in the Western Cape have reinforced deployments with crowd control capacity. Public order police and SAPS station officials have been active in Khayelithsa, Mfuleni, Kraaifontein, Delft, Joe Slovo and Laingsville to restore calm.

I call on SAPS and the SANDF to play a more proactive role in responding to these attacks. In addition, I call on residents to abide by the law. These are attacks on state property and should be treated with the utmost seriousness.”

Minister Anton Bredell, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning:

The escalation in attacks is concerning. Yesterday firefighters from the City of Cape Town were stoned in their fire engine and others were intimidated by local communities. This is not a new thing and other emergency responders have also been targeted. We are urging our communities to work with our emergency responders. 

These men and women are civil servants and are out there to protect and help the vulnerable and those in need. Attacking them puts at risk the lives of the very communities that are harbouring these vandals.

Minister Debbie Schafer, Education:

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the wanton destruction of two schools in Du Noon/ Joe Slovo area in the past two days. A classroom and the library at Marconi Bean Primary school were burned on Monday night and the school hall at Sinenjongo High School was set alight last night. These disgraceful acts of thuggery will do even more harm to our children’s education at a time when teaching and learning is already difficult.

We cannot say at this point when the damaged buildings, will be replaced. The Department’s budget has just been slashed again, and other schools and areas have been waiting patiently for a long time to receive schools and halls. We will not prioritise schools that are destroyed over others that have been waiting patiently for facilities. This destruction must stop!

Minister Nomafrench Mbombo, Health:

I strongly condemn the senseless attack of EMS staff that happened in Khayelitsha yesterday. It is critical for our people to realise that safety of communities is directly linked to the safety of our health personnel.

Sadly, these attacks often occur in extremely vulnerable communities where emergency services are needed most. I urge all residents to protect EMS personnel while they are rendering this very important service. This cannot be solely left in the hands of the Police. It will take a whole of society approach to create a safe environment that will enable people to access the healthcare they need.

Minister Sharna Fernandez, Social Development:

Yesterday one of government’s ‘Dial-A-Ride’ vehicles was destroyed during violent protests in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

One of the biggest obstacles that many persons with mobility impairments often encounter, is being able to drive a vehicle or being able to be transported in a vehicle that accommodates their disability.

Such violent, thuggish behaviour aimed at people with disabilities is despicable, to say the least! This is indeed a heartbreaking situation that we find ourselves in, as the availability of such specialized services are few and far between. 

I further call for the perpetrators of such hideous acts of violence to be held to account.

Minister BonginkosiMadikizela, Transport:

The affected transport modes are delivering critical services to the most vulnerable people in our society. 

These actions are pure thuggery which must be condemned in the strongest terms. Law enforcement must intensify its efforts to deal with the people who are causing destruction.

Issues by Western Cape Government, 22 July 2020