S.Africa's Church expresses concern over violent protests

(April 05, 2011) South African Council of Churches - SACC, has warned their state leaders that all efforts must be done to save democracy lest they walk the path of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. In a press statement the churches said, “The violent developments associated with poor delivery of social services in Zandspruit, West of Johannesburg, and some other parts of the country, is a rude re-awakening call to the authorities. It is yet an indication of just how destructive things can turn out to be, if Local Government Councillors and political parties continue to ignore the needs of the people. It is becoming even more apparent that in areas, where local leaders fail to provide leadership and offer basic social services to the communities, people have now resorted to display their agitation and anger in a violent way, the SACC said. They noted that over years, South Africa has always produced credible elections that have been lauded by international, regional and local observer missions. “It is a record that we must strive to keep for it is a good example of how democracy works,” they added. They appealed to the police to restrain the use of excessive force saying it is this approach that aggravates the emotions of protestors. They also appealed to communities to use non-violent methods of protest because that could only lend credence to the genuine struggles. Stating that it is an act of dishonesty that an attempt to deliver social services to the communities comes mostly at the time of electioneering, our conviction is that communities are entitled to these services, and therefore the government is not doing any favour when it delivers such services, said the statement from the SACC General Secretary Rev. Mautji Pataki .