Gauteng Premier David Makhura has condemned the violence that erupted on 23 February at the City of Joburg Council meeting.
Makhura said those who have grievances should not expect political support if they vandalise buildings. “People cannot just storm into a Council meeting, [vandalise] property and still expect that their grievances be heard.”
Makhura was speaking at the Gauteng Legislature on 24 February during his reply to the State of the Province (Sopa) debate.
Makhura condemned the conduct of members of the Johannesburg Social Movement (JSM) whom he said went about it the wrong way in their bid to address their problems with Mayor Herman Mashaba.
On 23 February, the members stormed into the Council meeting and vandalised property.
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Spokesperson for the movement, Tshepang Mokgatla, in turn, blamed Mashaba for their violence, arguing that the incident could have been avoided had Mashaba acted as a leader of the city rather than a party political mayor. Mokgatla said things turned ugly when Mashaba refused to accept a memorandum of demands from them, although he had agreed to it, as per the permission to march obtained by JSM.
The protest follows the announcement by the mayor that projects like Jozi@Work will be terminated. According to JSM, those projects provided employment to more than 8 000 residents.
The premier used the opportunity to address xenophobic tension in the province currently. He said he has instructed the MEC for Human Settlement, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Paul Mashatile, to work with Mashaba in addressing xenophobic tension and crime.
He also urged all leaders to call for calm and make their voices heard against vigilantism. “Let all of our voices be heard. We cannot afford the killing of foreign nationals. We cannot sit, watch and do nothing.”
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