Staff Reporter
Gauteng Premier David Makhura has appealed for calm in Alexandra following acts of violence and looting of shops suspected to be owned by foreign nationals.
Makhura, accompanied by Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko and the provincial police commissioner Elias Mawela, visited the township following horrific acts of violence that have engulfed parts of Gauteng in the past few days.
““We are calling for calm. Nobody should take the law into their own hands. These are very well organised criminal syndicates because you can see the kind of stuff they use to break into the shops. I want to repeat this cannot be justified by unemployment or people who are unhappy. This can’t be justified. We are a self-respecting democracy,” Makhura said Makhura.
Meanwhile, the SABC reports that Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has said the looting and burning of shops was aimed at tarnishing South Africa’s image and undermining the authority of the state.
She said there’s an urgent need to improve intelligence gathering.
“All that is required is for the security forces to be better organised, well organised and see the signs in good time. When these sorts of things are going to happen there are early warning signals. Our own intelligence services have had their own challenges. However, you are also aware there’s new leadership,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
The ANC in Gauteng has appealed to communities in the province, both South Africans and foreign nationals not to take the law into their own hands and rather allow those entrusted with law enforcement to take charge of the situation.
“Irrespective of the mitigating socio-economic pressures exacerbated by conditions of crime, unemployment, joblessness and poverty that confront many communities in Gauteng and in our country, resorting to violence and lawlessness can never be a justifiable way to respond to the situation,” ANC Gauteng Spokesperson Bones Modise said.
“Criminal elements in our midst who thrive on anarchy and are fuelling the unrests must not be allowed to hijack the legitimate concerns being raised by citizens and non South Africans alike”.
