Go and see the carnage in KZN, Mr President, and then treble the SANDF deployment
13 July 2021
Note to Editors: Please find attached a soundbite by John Steenhuisen MP, Leader of the DA. Please find attached pictures here, here, here, here, here and here.
Today I spent the morning on the ground in areas north of Durban, where the looting and destruction of the past 48 hours have exacted a heavy toll on these communities.
It is no exaggeration to say that neighbourhoods like Phoenix, Verulam and Cornubia have been turned into a war zone by marauding mobs, and there is still no sign of the violence letting up.
The residents I spoke to are shattered by these events. They are struggling to understand how this was possible in our constitutional democracy, and how the state did not offer them, their loved ones, their property and their businesses any protection at all. They all told me today that they felt abandoned and left to fend for themselves.
I flew into KZN this morning to see for myself the devastation and hear communities out.
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) July 13, 2021
Nothing could have prepared me for the scenes that met me. The despair and fear is palpable. All that while the looting and burning continued unabated.
I did not see a single soldier. pic.twitter.com/OGNxG3zcz2
What I also saw in these communities is that both SAPS and the so-called SANDF deployment are nowhere in this crisis. There has been no re-establishment of law and order at all - we saw buildings still burning and we saw bodies still lying in the streets. The reassurances offered by the ministers of the Security Cluster in their press briefing earlier today could not possibly be more meaningless. They are not close to having a handle on the situation here.
Having said that, I must commend the bravery and dedication of the very thin line of SAPS officers that were present here and were doing their best to hold the front line. Along with the many members of the community who stood up to the mobs and defended their people and property, we have seen real heroes step up to the plate.
But they will not be able to do this for much longer. It is critical that our country’s law enforcement resources are immediately deployed, in substantial numbers, to the worst-affected areas. A deployment of only 2500 SANDF personnel, for the entire country, is far from sufficient. If government could deploy many times this number during earlier phases of lockdown to enforce lockdown regulations, then they should certainly be able to match, if not exceed, this number in a crisis such as this.
And it is also critical that this SANDF deployment is for the purpose of assisting SAPS with actual law enforcement and tasks such as guarding big intersections, handling roadblocks and opening up transport routes, and not merely to guard national keypoints as was the case until now.
Along with a far stronger SANDF deployment we also need to see a better allocation of SAPS resources from other parts the country to the riot hotspots. If there is indeed credible crime intelligence and defence intelligence, as claimed at the Security Cluster briefing, then this needs to be applied to the allocation of SAPS resources to where they can make a real difference.
And then it is also imperative that we snuff out the coordination and incitement of these criminal acts at the source. It is no secret that leaders of the pro-Zuma faction, as well as others with aligned interests, have been fanning the flames on social media with impunity. Today the DA will lay criminal charges against three of these high profile leaders, in the former president’s children, Duduzane Zuma and Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, as well as the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema. Our society is already a powder keg and we cannot afford any more of these incendiary sparks.
But arguably the most important step in this response should be for the president, the security cluster ministers, the Police Commissioner and the army generals to actually go and see for themselves the situation on the ground in KZN. Because when you see the scale of destruction with your own eyes, and when you hear, first-hand, from terrified residents how they spent the night fearing for their lives and not knowing how they will ever pick up the pieces of their destroyed businesses and all the thousands of jobs that were wiped out, you will surely be jolted out of Sunday night televised platitudes and into strong action.
Issued by John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 13 July 2021
Terrified communities are literally taking point to protect their families and their possessions.
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) July 13, 2021
Much more needs to be done to regain the initiative and restore law and order, what is being done doesn’t come even close to cutting it!
We will not rest until this is resolved. pic.twitter.com/PLLLWSiIe4
