Violent, destructive protests are a setback SA cannot afford

IN HIS seat of contemplation, the Dalai Lama reflected: “Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped in water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.”

These words couldn’t be truer or more fitting for South Africa, as the country still reels from the devastating and unforgettable July 2021 riots.

It’s unbelievable how quickly those riots escalated, from hearing about one vandalised shopping complex to 200-plus malls looted in the space of 10 days. With 354 people dead and thousands injured, it was, and still is, difficult to accept that this happened 26 years into our democracy.

Sadly, those involved in looting didn’t just steal from business owners and taxpayers, but they effectively stole from themselves, too. They stole people’s livelihoods, dreams, hopes, only source of income and means of maintaining their dignity.

Even with this grim picture, it is worth acknowledging that protests are deeply interwoven in our political history. As a result, it’s arguable that without them, we would not be enjoying the freedoms we have today.

So, what happens when protests are not peaceful and result in harmful consequences? The answer is far more complex, but simply – it is a loss at all ends, one that deepens inequality, leaving poorer communities with a raw deal. The socio-economic gap and divide only grows wider and deeper each time infrastructure is vandalised.

This way of expressing grievances does not serve our communities, and most certainly does not bring us any closer to attaining our desired dream of a just society. As much as we have the right to be angry and to protest, the destruction of clinics, schools, libraries, roads, factories, spaza shops and much other critical infrastructure and properties, both public and private, does not help our cause, especially with an ailing economy and a highly indebted government.

As citizens, when exercising our democratic rights we have to hold one another accountable. We have to call each other out and report to the authorities those who use protests as an opportunity to destroy property and harm others.

Of course, the biggest responsibility rests with public officials and leadership in general. Thus, the president and his administration have to be responsive to citizens’ grievances and demonstrate that they care by doing their jobs – ensuring that services are delivered and that there is clean governance.

It would be folly for President Cyril Ramaphosa to expect the social compact to be realised when public representatives are as unresponsive as we’ve got to know them to be, and public servants continuously undermine citizens with sub-par and in some instances non-existent service delivery. It is important to acknowledge that a government that does not deliver services is effectively meting out violence against its citizens.

Local government leaders and public servants have to step up as part of this responsibility of being responsive to citizens’ grievances. Equally, business leaders must not be let off scot-free as they often escape taking responsibility.

My deepest plea is that as South Africans we would live with the awareness that everything we are and everything we do directly or indirectly affects everything and everyone around us. Small or big, what we choose to do has the power and authority to set us back on course for a better future.

While many South Africans woke up with anxiety on Monday morning owing to the national shutdown march organised by the EFF, my plea is about the choices that as citizens we have to make daily.

Including protecting and defending infrastructure that contributes to sustaining our livelihoods, and actions that can have far-reaching effects, especially violence and destruction. Compatriots, let us choose responsibility and accountability above all else.