
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="topline">Topline</h3>



<p>In August 2021, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed an expert panel to review the government’s response to the public protests and civil unrest that rocked the country’s Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provinces in July. The report on “the spate of orchestrated public violence, destruction and sabotage in July 2021” revealed that over 300 people died, thousands were injured and at the end of the week of unrest, approximately R50 billion ($3.2 billion) was wiped off the South African economy.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="key-facts">Key Facts</h3>



<p>Vandalism, looting, riots, “political protests” and “anarchy” erupted in two of South Africa’s biggest economies, Gauteng and KZN. The protests, which followed the arrest of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court, began in KZN, Zuma’s homestead, where he was incarcerated at the Estcourt Correctional Centre. The civil unrest saw multiple businesses, buildings and properties destroyed during the week of destruction. The protests continued in Gauteng, in places such as Soweto, Jeppestown and Alexandra.</p>



<p>The expert panel was appointed a month later to investigate the cause of the outbreak as well as the consequences.</p>



<p>The panel, which consisted of Professor Sandy Africa, as chair, and advocate Mojanku Gumbi and Silumko Sokupa, found that a combination of complex multi-dimensional and obscure factors formed the background and led to the “outbreak of violence never before seen in our post-apartheid democracy, leading to contestations in the public space, including between senior members of government, over how to characterize it”.</p>



<p>The violence that broke out was viewed in the context of multiple crises and challenges facing South Africa, the report found key among them:</p>



<ol><li>The weakness of State institutions generally, a phenomenon that has been referred to as the hollowing out of State institutions;</li><li>high unemployment, with youth unemployment above 70% and no consistent, continuous plan to address this challenge;</li><li>inherited high levels of poverty and deep inequality;</li><li>poor spatial planning, leading to overcrowded and unsuitable living conditions for many, with informal settlements emerging in crowded urban spaces as people move to the cities in search of opportunities;</li><li>rampant corruption at various levels of government;</li><li>the phenomenon of sponsored State Capture, as understood in the South African context.</li><li>the frustrations caused by the Covid-19 restrictions, adding to the feelings of despair among the population.</li></ol>



<p>The panel also concluded that although the looting, destruction and violence “have come and gone”, little has changed in the conditions that led to the unrest since July 2021. There have been further concerns by the public that similar eruptions may take place.</p>



<p>“The question, many argue, is not if and whether more unrest and violence will occur, but when it will occur,” the report read.</p>



<p>The report also revealed how shopkeepers, managers or shop personnel found their businesses looted by their own regular customers. Furthermore, there was a sense of bewilderment at the absence of the police at the time – the report found that police failed to stop the unrest.</p>



<p>“In most areas, the police became spectators as one mall after another was destroyed; as one truck after another was torched; as people came back day after day to finish looting whatever was left from the previous day.”</p>



<p>Ramaphosa in a statement said he will outline the first actions the government will take in response to the findings and recommendations of the report Thursday, February 10 2022 during his State of Nation Address.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="tangent">Tangent</h3>



<p>In their recommendations, the panel said it goes without saying that the capacity of the security services needs to be strengthened to respond effectively to all situations. This includes both the South Africa Police Services (SAPS) as well as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The government, at all levels, are also encouraged to “seriously attend” to the socio-economic challenges facing the country.</p>



<p>“Poorly rolled out programmes of service delivery and unacceptable living conditions, the state of the economy, and the persistent levels of poverty, served to provide the ripe environment to light the tinder box that was the incarceration of former President Zuma that led to many poor and desperate people joining in the looting, alongside those more calculating in their objectives and motivation,” the report read.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h3>



<p>“Mr. President, you asked us to determine whether the response by the security services was timeous, appropriate and sufficient. The answer to that, in respect of the police and the intelligence services, is an unequivocal no. Many reasons were proffered for this failure, but in the end, the response remains that they failed to do the necessary to protect life, limb and property. The reasons are set out in the body of our report. The Executive, however carries some of the blame too and must take responsibility for its lapse of leadership,” the panel said in their concluding assessment.</p>


SANDF inspects Jabulani Mall after social unrest in South Africa

Expert Panel Report On 2021 South Africa Riots Reveals It Cost The Economy $3.2 Billion


<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong><em>WORDS By Chanel Retief<br>PHOTOS By Yeshiel Panchia</em></strong></p>



<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong>: After a tense week of public and violent unrest that left 117 dead across South Africa, reports of #CleanUpSA have come into effect since Thursday. South Africans have taken to social media to demonstrate how in some areas of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng provinces, which saw escalated lootings and lawlessness, volunteers are coming forward to help in rebuilding looted shops, recovering stolen goods and cleaning up the streets.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-photos"><strong>IN PHOTOS </strong></h3>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51871" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-2-of-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



<p>Volunteers and community members sweep the streets outside the looted and destroyed Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra, Johannesburg, 15 July 2021. The city was relatively quiet as community members and volunteers came out to sweep the streets and conduct repairs after days of unrest and looting. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51872" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/15-July-2021-Alex-Cleanup-3-of-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>



<p>Construction vehicles collect debris outside the looted and destroyed Pan Africa Mall in Alexandra, Johannesburg, 15 July 2021. The city was relatively quiet as community members and volunteers came out to sweep the streets and conduct repairs after days of unrest and looting.</p>



<p>Key Facts</p>



<p>● Since the arrest of the former president, Jacob Zuma, South Africa has been in flames. Following his incarceration for contempt of court, there have been multiple outbreaks of public violence in parts of KZN and Gauteng. Hundreds of shops and businesses have been looted and the government says it is acting to prevent food shortages.</p>



<p>● The layers of this unrest look at Zuma loyalists who want the former president to be free. However, Government has commented that there have been “opportunistic criminals”. But there have been those who have also observed this could be people grabbing the opportunity to put food on the table while getting governments’ attention on service delivery issues in South Africa.</p>



<p>● On Tuesday, Ramaphosa deployed the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) “in support of the operations” of the South African Police Service (SAPS). About 25,000 more troops were deployed Thursday which has been reported as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/africa-south-africa-59f7817632563dcf19d7e212de8046c9">“one of the largest deployments of soldiers since</a>” the end of apartheid.</p>



<p>● This has also led to racial tensions breaking out in some parts of South Africa but predominantly in KZN. According to the <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/2568028/15-people-killed-in-phoenix-following-racially-charged-clashes-cele-confirms/">CITIZEN</a>, Police Minister Bheki Cele took to Phoenix, north Durban, where 15 people have been killed. This follows after several reports indicated that the attacks may have been racially motivated.</p>



<p>● Even though the unrest has slowed down, about 117 people have died and more than 2,000 have been arrested. The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services on Wednesday in a statement</p>



<p>said that the alleged perpetrators of the unrests that “ravaged Gauteng since Monday” have appeared in various courts within the Gauteng Local Division.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-insecurity">Food Insecurity</h3>



<p>South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday in his address warned that if the unrest continued, the situation could lead to food insecurity. According to a report released by<a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/agriculture/071621-unrest-in-south-africa-disrupts-agricultural-logistics-raises-food-security-concerns"> S&amp;P Global</a>, the unrests have had an impact on agriculture in South Africa.</p>



<p>“Unrest in South Africa&#8217;s eastern provinces is posing a threat to the country&#8217;s already precarious food security situation by disrupting agricultural trade and transportation, and damaging infrastructure and planted crops in the region,” the report stated.</p>



<p>&#8220;The biggest risk in the short-term is the free movement of goods, including food and agricultural produce on the roads, specifically to and from the Durban port,&#8221; said Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa.</p>


15 July 2021 Alex Cleanup (1 of 3)

Rebuild And Repair: Community Members Unite To Clean Up South Africa After Days Of Devastation


<p>For the last three days, since South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma began his jail term for contempt of court, the country has been mired in protests with pro-Zuma supporters voicing their displeasure. The demonstrations have centered around KwaZulu-Natal, the home province of the former president where he is incarcerated, with major highways barricaded by burning tires, over 30 trucks set alight and an estimated $7 million in damages.<br><br>Late last night, the protests spread into South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng and continued today, with at least one confirmed death and another two people reported shot. All major roads in Johannesburg CBD experienced some disruption, with many areas of the city looking like a warzone.<br><br>Some major roads such as Jules Street in the city saw multiple shops looted, with liquor stores particularly targeted as South Africa continues under a lockdown which includes a strict ban on the sale of alcohol. Dozens of car dealerships were burned to the ground with vehicles inside them.</p>



<p>The country continues under lockdown Level 4 until the 25th of July. <br><br>FORBES AFRICA is on the ground and will provide updates as the story progresses.</p>


Tag: Zuma Unrest

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Expert Panel Report On 2021 South Africa Riots Reveals It Cost The Economy $3.2 Billion

Rebuild And Repair: Community Members Unite To Clean Up South Africa After Days Of Devastation

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