http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=513113

Protesting communities ask why others are benefiting from economic growth and they are not

GOVERNMENT fears of more protests over lack of service delivery in the country are fast becoming a reality.

In recent weeks, there has been a growing number of angry protests by residents over poor service delivery including housing.

The minister of housing, Lindiwe Sisulu, told the ANC’s national executive committee in January that South Africa was facing “greater instability” over slow service delivery in the run-up to the 2009 elections. Sisulu said that if people’s expectations were not met, protests could increase and become more violent.

Last week, ANC councillor Morris Mokoena died at the hands of a mob protesting over housing in Deneysville in the Free State. The protest became violent after the crowd set fire to property and was shot at by cops.

Other violent protests broke out in Wolmaransstad, Vlakfontein, Durban Deep, Mamelodi, QwaQwa, Kimberley, Lenasia and the Winnie Mandela informal settlement near Tembisa.

Political analysts have urged the government to urgently address the matter.

Aubrey Matshiqi, a political analyst from the Centre for Policy Studies, said the protests could spread to other areas.

Matshiqi said: “These communities (protesting) look at other communities that are benefiting from economic growth and ask why they are not benefiting.

‘‘The protests are driven by the reality or the perception of poor service delivery,” he said.

“If the ANC government does not deliver on what it has promised, the situation could get worse.”

Tony Manning, a writer and independent consultant on strategy, said slow service delivery could no longer be ignored and said the government needed to address these issues, especially housing.

Matshiqi said the ANC was running the risk of losing voters in the 2009 elections.

The protests highlight the emergence of social movements that are not necessarily aligned to the ANC.

The DA said that “reckless election promises” could be blamed for the spate of unrest.

DA MP Kate Lorimer said: “As much as we may condemn the violence, we must also understand why it is happening.”

Lorimer said unrealistic housing targets had exacerbated the problem.

“The ANC insists on perpetuating the idea that by 2014, all informal settlements in the country will have been eradicated. What nonsense!’’

Lorimer said: ‘‘In Gauteng, we have a backlog of over 600,000 housing units yet Gauteng housing is building fewer than 50,000 units a year.”