Ramaphosa must step in and publicly condemn the violent riots and destruction of property
10 July 2021
The current events in the country, characterised by violence, protests and the destruction of property, are totally unacceptable and could lead to utter anarchy.
As leader of the FF Plus, I am urgently calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to publicly condemn this conduct as well as on the law-enforcement agencies of South Africa to step in and maintain law and order and to do everything in their power to defuse the situation.
In KwaZulu Natal, particularly, the situation has gotten out of hand as certain roads are now completely inaccessible. By this morning, 23 trucks with their cargo had already been torched on the N3 highway near Mooi River.
The destruction accompanying the riots is delivering further blows to the country's already dire economic situation. It is damaging the country's image in the eyes of the world and will deter prospective investors from investing here.
At present, there are numerous messages inciting the destruction of property circulating on social media, while trucks are torched and riotous gatherings are a daily occurrence.
Equally alarming are the voice messages stating that white people should be the main target of the violence and destruction seeing as it is the so-called white monopoly capital that has President Cyril Ramaphosa in its control and is using him.
Regardless of where these messages originated, they must be taken very seriously because they incite extensive racial violence and such messages could, without a doubt, influence people who could use them as an excuse to commit violence.
It is unacceptable that the internal faction fights in the ANC have now turned into public unrest and violence.
Innocent people are being targeted and white people are once again made the scapegoats for the country's problems and the Zuma issue; thus, firm and decisive action must be taken against lawbreakers and those inciting them.
Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 10 July 2021
