Mashaba condemns violence and looting in Joburg’s inner city
JOBURG – Criminality has no race, gender or nationality, and those who elect to commit a crime must be dealt with harshly by the law, said Mayor Herman Mashaba in a statement.
Executive mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba said that he condemns the violent looting taking place in parts of Johannesburg and especially the inner city. He said such lawlessness and disregard for human life cannot and will not be tolerated.
“At this stage, the violence and looting appear targeted at foreign nationals and shop owners. I am awaiting a full report from the City’s Department of Public Safety and will keep the public abreast of developments,” Mashaba said in a statement released on 2 September.
He said he is assured that the Johannesburg Metro police was doing everything possible to assist the SAPS in bringing an end to this criminality.
“I call upon South Africa’s law enforcement agencies, and especially the SAPS, to deal with these criminals with urgency and restore law and order on our streets. This latest outbreak of criminality once again highlights the desperate need for intelligence-led policing in our country,” said Mashaba.
Mashaba added that while such action must be condemned in the strongest terms, the government needs to take a hard look at itself in addressing the root causes of the ever-increasing violent protests taking place – a stuttering economy with ever-increasing rates of unemployment.
He also said that those participating in these cowardly acts of violence and looting must know that their actions will do nothing to address the economic and unemployment crises facing our country. Their criminal acts will only worsen this situation as businesses close and jobs are lost.
“Criminality has no race, gender or nationality. Those who elect to commit a crime must be dealt with harshly by the law,” said Mashaba.
He noted that tensions have been reaching boiling point for some time. Just last month, the streets of the inner city were turned into chaos as hundreds of shop owners attacked the SAPS and the Metro police who were conducting a raid on the sale of illicit and counterfeit goods by the shop owners who were predominantly foreign nationals. The SAPS and Metro police were violently pelted with stones and other projectiles.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of the breakdown of the rule of law in our country, and the rising human crisis. Ultimately, the casualties of the government’s inaction will be our poorest residents, and indeed, law-abiding foreign nationals,” said Mashaba.
“For almost three years, and five Ministers of Home Affairs later, I have continuously attempted to engage the department and the ministers on the undocumented migration crisis facing Johannesburg,” said Mashaba.
“It is evident that the Department of Home Affairs is failing in its responsibility to ensure that people entering our country are processed and timeously provided with relevant documentation. This is only aggravating current tensions,” added Mashaba.
He called upon all residents of Johannesburg to respect the law and assist the SAPS and Metro police by immediately reporting any outbreak of violence or looting in their communities.
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