South African protest
2019 service delivery protests Date 3 April 2019 – May 2019 Location Caused by Lack of delivery of municipal services Methods
Resulted in
2 deaths[ 1]
45 total arrests
37 arrests in the Western Cape[ 2]
8 arrested in Soweto[ 3]
property damage
The 2019 service delivery protests refers to a series of protests and civil disturbances taking place across urban areas of South Africa related to poor service delivery that started in Alexandra on 3 April 2019.[ 4] [ 5]
After starting in Alexandra on 3 April the protestors marched to the wealthy nearby neighbourhood of Sandton five days later to gain more attention.[ 6] On 9 April the trade union SAFTU stated their support for the protests and called on other areas in Gauteng province to join.[ 7] By 11 April 2019 the protests had spread to other major cities in the rest of the country.[ 8] Other than Alexandra protests occurred in Hammanskraal , Roodepoort , Vereeniging , Kroonstad , Blackheath,[ 9] Tshwane ,[ 10] Bekkersdal , Orange Grove ,[ 11] Nomzamo [ 12] Lingelethu East ,[ 13] Bergville ,[ 14] Bekkersdal ,[ 15] Caledon ,[ 16] Eersteriver , Rus-ter-Vaal ,[ 2] Khayelitsha ,[ 17] Riverlea ,[ 18] and Soweto .[ 19]
The major political parties traded accusations over the cause of the riots.[ 6] The African National Congress (ANC) accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of not effectively delivering services to the protesting communities[ 20] and the DA made a counter accusation that it was ANC governance in Johannesburg two years before was the root cause of poor service delivery in Alexandra.[ 21] The protests were openly supported by the trade union SAFTU who called on other areas to join the protests.[ 22] The DA[ 23] and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) accused the ANC of instigating and spreading the protests to discredit them in the run up to the 2019 South African general election .[ 24] [ 25]
Notable South African academic Steven Friedman , criticised media coverage of the protests for "denigrat[ing] poor people by offering a distorted picture of their lives" and supporting politically motivated narratives that the protests were incited by political parties instead of being driven by genuine grievances.[ 26]
See also
References
^ "Two protesters killed during Soshanguve protest" . News24 . 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ a b "LOOK: Service delivery protests snowball as politicians shift blame" . www.iol.co.za . 12 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019 .
^ "Pennyville protesters arrested" . eNCA . Retrieved 13 April 2019 .
^ "#AlexTotalShutdown: 'We inherited a rot, a mess' - DA's Maimane" . News24 . 3 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Nyathi, Ayanda. "Alex residents vow to continue with protest until Ramaphosa, Makhura comstarted in Xitsonga" . ewn.co.za . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ a b "Alex protest timeline: Anger, ignored pleas, and threats" . TimesLIVE . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Naidoo, Sashin (9 April 2019). "SAFTU supports Alex protests, calls on other townships to join" . SABC News . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ "WATCH: Service delivery protests spread from Alexandra to the rest of SA" . News24 . 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ LERATO DIALE, LESEGO MAKGATHO AND SIPHO MABASO (14 April 2019). "Collapse of local leadership major cause of violent protests - analysts | IOL News" . www.iol.co.za . Retrieved 16 April 2019 .
^ "Tshwane shutdown causes chaos in Pretoria" . News24 . 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ Gerber, Jan (12 April 2019). "Protesters trying to attract politicians' attention - Municipal IQ" . News24 . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ "Protesters won't back down as Somerset West unrest continues" . News24 . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ "Somerset West: Shops looted, bar emptied overnight" . News24 . 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ "Residents block main road in Bergville service delivery protest" . ECR . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ "Rubber bullets fired as Bekkersdal protests intensify" . eNCA . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Brandt, Kevin. "Caledon protesters await municipality's response to demands" . ewn.co.za . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ "WATCH: Khayelitsha shutdown causes havoc on Cape Town roads | Cape Argus" . www.iol.co.za . 11 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019 .
^ Eyewitness News (21 April 2019). "Violent protests break out in Riverlea" . ewn.co.za . Retrieved 22 April 2019 .
^ "Service delivery protests spread to Soweto" . TimesLIVE . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Simelane, Bheki C. "ALEXANDRA PROTESTS: Alex residents march to Sandton, determined to have their grievances heard" . Daily Maverick . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ Mitchley, Alex (7 April 2019). "Alex shutdown: DA, ANC in blame-game as protest set to spread to Sandton" . News24 . Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Naidoo, Sashin (9 April 2019). "SAFTU supports Alex protests, calls on other townships to join" . SABC News . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ Tefu, Nyakallo. "DA to lay a criminal complaint against ANC for Alex protests" . ewn.co.za . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ Mahlakoana, Theto. "EFF: Alex service delivery protest an opportunistic move by ANC" . ewn.co.za . Retrieved 11 April 2019 .
^ " 'Service delivery protests are part of the ANC's plans to discredit the DA' " . www.iol.co.za . Retrieved 12 April 2019 .
^ Friedman, Steven (22 April 2019). "How portrayal of protest in South Africa denigrates poor people" . The M&G Online . Retrieved 22 April 2019 .
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