Ramaphosa encourages all South Africans to work together to defend democracy

President Cyril Ramaphosa provided an update on July 16 about the security situation in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng following widespread looting.

Ramaphosa visited Ethekwini earlier in the day to assess the aftermath of the public violence. He said these areas have been the site of unprecedented destruction. “What is most devastating is the toll these events have taken on people’s lives and their livelihoods and sense of security.”

He said it is clear that these events were a deliberate, coordinated and well-planned attack on democracy. “The constitutional order of our country is under threat, the current instability and ongoing incitement to violence constitute a direct contravention of our country.”

Ramaphosa added that the intention of these actions was to create instability and severely weaken or dislodge the democratic state, using the pretext of a political grievance.

He said those who face poverty, inequality and unemployment have been exploited and provoked. “The ensuing chaos is used as a smokescreen to carry out economic sabotage through targeted attacks on trucks and warehouses and other infrastructure necessary for the functioning of our economy and provisioning of services to our people.”

He said that through social media and fake news, those responsible for instigating the attacks have sought to inflame racial tensions and violence. “These instigators have sought to manipulate the poor and vulnerable for their own benefit yet, despite the wide destruction, this attempted insurrection has failed to gain popular support among our people.”

“Since the outbreak of this violence, at least 212 people have lost their lives. Of these, 180 have been in KwaZulu-Natal and 32 in Gauteng. The South African Police Service is investigating 131 cases of murder and has opened inquest dockets in respect of 81 deaths.”

Despite the damage and destruction, South Africans have come together to rebuild their lives.

Ramaphosa said since the unrest started, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has recorded over 118 incidents of public violence, arson, looting and other unrest related incidents.

“Since the height of the unrests on Monday (July 12) and Tuesday (July 13), there has been a sharp decline in the number of incidents and calm is returning to most of these areas. Over 2 550 people have been arrested in connection with the unrest and special arrangements are being put in place to ensure these cases are prioritised.”

He emphasised that the destruction has cost billions of rands and extensive damage has been done to 161 malls and shopping centres, 11 warehouses, eight factories and 161 liquor outlets and distributors. “This does not include the damage caused to the roads and other infrastructure.”

He said it is important for the government to acknowledge that they were poorly prepared for an orchestrated campaign of public violence and sabotage. “While we commend the brave actions of our security forces on the ground, we must admit that we did not have the capabilities or plans in place to respond swiftly and decisively.”

The government’s priority now is to stabilise the country, secure essential supplies and infrastructure and provide relief and support. He added that they will also encourage the active efforts of citizens in defence of their lives, livelihoods and democracy.

“To stabilise the country we have massively increased the numbers of law enforcement and security personnel on the ground in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.”

He added that they would also be spread to other parts of the country. Ramaphosa has authorised the deployment of 25 000 members of the South African National Defence Force to support the work of the police. Of these members, 10 000 will be on the ground while the remaining forces will arrive in their areas of deployment over the weekend.

The N3 freeway between Ethekwini and Gauteng has been re-opened and security forces are in place to keep vital supply routes open. The security forces are in place to keep vital supply routes open and they are working with businesses to ensure the safe transport of fuel, food, oxygen, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other critical supplies.

“Operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay are being restored to enable the resumption of exports and imports.”

He emphasised that there is no shortage of supplies in most parts of the country and, therefore, there is no need to panic buy, as this will worsen the situation.

Ramaphosa said specialised units are working around the clock to locate and apprehend those responsible for planning and coordinating this violence. “We will spend no effort in bringing those individuals to justice. My instruction to the commissioner of police is very clear on this.”

He said there have been numerous calls for the declaration of a state of emergency and, while these are understandable, he highlighted that the government’s view is that a state of emergency should only be declared when all other means of stabilising the situation in the country are inadequate.

“For now, it is our firm view that our security forces, working together with our communities and social partners across the country will be able to restore order and prevent further violence.

“We will extinguish the fires that are raging and we will stamp out every last ember of this fire. We will identify and act against those who lit the flame and those who spread it and those who are still attempting to spread it.”

He said provincial departments of social development and Sassa will use their remaining budget in the Social Relief of Distress programme to provide support in the form of food parcels, cash and food vouchers.

“To assist with the immediate needs of affected communities, the Solidarity Fund has established a Humanitarian Crisis Relief Fund to assist those in greatest need at this time. We are calling on all South Africans to support this fund.”

He added that a team in the presidency and National Treasury is hard at work to develop a comprehensive support package for Cabinet’s consideration.

“While calm has returned to most of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the threat to our country and to our democracy remains present and real. Those responsible for organising this campaign of violence and destruction have not yet been apprehended and their networks have not yet been dismantled.”

He encouraged South Africans to remain vigilant and resist any efforts to incite violence. He called on communities to work with Community Policing Forums and ensure they do not take the law into their own hands.

“We call on all South Africans to encourage calm and restraint, to desist from sharing false information and report any incidents of violence to the police immediately.”

Ramaphosa concluded, “If we stand together, no insurrection or violence in this country will succeed. We are engaged in a struggle to defend our democracy, our Constitution, our livelihoods and our safety. This is not a battle that we can afford to lose.”