last july South Africa It was hit by a wave of devastating violence that killed more than 350 people and caused enormous economic damage. Different people have used different words to describe what happened: civil unrest, looting, food riots, rebellion, rebellion, counter-revolution.
Even government ministers were initially divided over what to call the events. President Cyril Ramaphosa termed them an insurgency: a well-planned, well-planned attempt to destabilize the country, sabotage economy, and undermine constitutional democracy.
Events can be described in any way, they can be attributed to:
– the prevalence of weak state institutions that failed to implement,
– ineffective security institutions that failed to uphold the law, and
Poor oversight and results management at the national, provincial and local government levels.
The picture put together by an expert panel appointed by Ramaphosa to investigate the riots, over several months, had built up a deliberate and targeted campaign that set the stage for what was to come. This included violent rhetoric, social media mobilization and threats aimed at intimidating courts and law enforcement agencies. There were other incendiary acts that fit the generalized pattern of public disorder. These include burning trucks, jamming highways and destroying infrastructure.
These multi-layered currents feed and reinforce each other. They sometimes ran parallel to each other. jailing of former president jacob zuma There was only one trigger for contempt of court.
The notion of an insurgency suggests that the principals were politically motivated actors who took advantage of weaknesses in the state’s ability to carry out a general campaign of violence. Violence undermined the legitimacy of state institutions and traumatized the country psychologically.
This left the feeling that the untouchables could work with impunity. This notion is reinforced by the slow pace of prosecutions and unsubstantiated promises by the state to uncover alleged masterminds.
A troubling question is whether a repeat of the devastating events of July 2021 is possible. I think this is possible only when there is no meaningful change.
seeds of growing discontent
The objective conditions that made the riots possible have remained the same. These include periodic disruptions and blockades on national roads, calls for national shutdowns and deliberate damage to infrastructure.
Social media is still being used to create fear and spread rumors of unrest. In addition, the governing African National Congress (ANC) has been torn apart by internal rivalry. It has failed to provide the much needed leadership.
South Africa has seen almost daily protests over the years over the lack of decent municipal services such as water, sanitation, housing and land. A trigger event, or set of conditions, can easily ignite flames.
After two years of hardship due to COVID-19, there have been other setbacks. Earlier this year, KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country were hit hard by devastating floods, causing further trauma.
In other parts of the country, drought is causing severe water shortages, bringing with it a new source of insecurity and instability.
Unemployment has increased. Many of the employed people are failing to make ends meet. The violent rhetoric that is taking place against migrants may almost be out of the playbook of July 2021. Rhetoric includes the spread of unapproved videos designed to incite tension and fear.
The Ukraine war has severely affected energy security and food security, which has had an impact on the cost of living in South Africa.
problem solving
Ramaphosa has acknowledged the lack of leadership on the part of the government, adding that his cabinet accepts responsibility for the violence. He promised to run a national response plan to address the vulnerabilities the expert panel identified. This included filling critical vacancies in the security services and appointing new leadership.
A new National Police Commissioner has been appointed. Similarly, there is a new head of the State Security Agency. And the Treasury has released funds to recruit and train more police officers to strengthen public order policing.
Since last year, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS has been responding regularly to unrest. This is welcome, but law enforcement agencies run the risk of being pulled over if they do not base their operational plans on credible intelligence .
The recent findings of the Inquisition’s capture of the state point to hollowness and abuse for the political end of the intelligence services during the Zuma era. It is therefore not surprising that the security sector was not so prepared to avoid violent unrest.
If there is one area in which all security services need to improve their capabilities, it is in the most advanced methods of technological surveillance and digital intelligence. The era of fake news and propaganda requires a new generation of personnel with digital skills.
Security services need to be better prepared in the event of a similar outbreak of violence.
They need to hone their skills and improve the coordination of local, provincial and national government roles and resources with emergency services, civil society, business and private security providers. There is also a need to improve intelligence capability and work together with communities, business and civil society for more timely exchange of information.
But, the state cannot outsource its overall constitutional responsibility to guarantee public safety and security. Intelligence services should use legal means to alert the government and the country of the threats to security.
Other countries teach a lesson. When the powers of the police are not well regulated and legally monitored, the space created can be filled by militias, vigilantes and people trading on the vulnerability of other communities.
what is next
On the anniversary of the July unrest, the people of South Africa are calling for accountability and justice. Many feel frustrated by weak governance, political dysfunction and economic inequality – mainly at the expense of the country’s poverty-stricken black majority.
Presenting the State Security Budget vote for 2022/23, Minister in the Presidency, Mondali Gungubele, promised a principled shift away from “state security” towards a people-centred notion of security.
The need for such a change was also highlighted in the report of a panel appointed by Ramaphosa in June 2018 to review the functioning of the country’s intelligence services.
The President has also promised an inclusive process of developing a national security strategy. Civil society bodies should use this opportunity to table their demands.
South Africa needs a multi-pronged strategy to build peaceful, sustainable neighbourhoods, communities and a nation where the rule of law prevails.
New concepts of security are needed that reflect a people-centred ethos. In the face of violent and destabilizing crimes similar to the July events, the country may need to review the mandates, capabilities and resources of security services.
It does not mean an increase in the use of lethal force. Methods aimed at reducing conflict, involving community leaders, and preventing bloodshed are needed. There is a need for serious and dedicated security services and accountable political representatives to oversee the services to avoid abuse of power.
An attached citizen is also one who acts legally to protect the country from civil strife. The people of South Africa should consider carefully whether to institutionalize the many acts of heroism displayed over the past year. These include automatically formed community patrols to protect shopping centers and private security companies assisting the police with operational equipment.
South Africa can hope to avoid a repeat of the events of July 2021. But this requires a recalculated security sector that is effective, accountable, accountable, serving the country’s democracy and not the interests of a few who manipulate them for personal or partisan gains.
Even government ministers were initially divided over what to call the events. President Cyril Ramaphosa termed them an insurgency: a well-planned, well-planned attempt to destabilize the country, sabotage economy, and undermine constitutional democracy.
Events can be described in any way, they can be attributed to:
– the prevalence of weak state institutions that failed to implement,
– ineffective security institutions that failed to uphold the law, and
Poor oversight and results management at the national, provincial and local government levels.
The picture put together by an expert panel appointed by Ramaphosa to investigate the riots, over several months, had built up a deliberate and targeted campaign that set the stage for what was to come. This included violent rhetoric, social media mobilization and threats aimed at intimidating courts and law enforcement agencies. There were other incendiary acts that fit the generalized pattern of public disorder. These include burning trucks, jamming highways and destroying infrastructure.
These multi-layered currents feed and reinforce each other. They sometimes ran parallel to each other. jailing of former president jacob zuma There was only one trigger for contempt of court.
The notion of an insurgency suggests that the principals were politically motivated actors who took advantage of weaknesses in the state’s ability to carry out a general campaign of violence. Violence undermined the legitimacy of state institutions and traumatized the country psychologically.
This left the feeling that the untouchables could work with impunity. This notion is reinforced by the slow pace of prosecutions and unsubstantiated promises by the state to uncover alleged masterminds.
A troubling question is whether a repeat of the devastating events of July 2021 is possible. I think this is possible only when there is no meaningful change.
seeds of growing discontent
The objective conditions that made the riots possible have remained the same. These include periodic disruptions and blockades on national roads, calls for national shutdowns and deliberate damage to infrastructure.
Social media is still being used to create fear and spread rumors of unrest. In addition, the governing African National Congress (ANC) has been torn apart by internal rivalry. It has failed to provide the much needed leadership.
South Africa has seen almost daily protests over the years over the lack of decent municipal services such as water, sanitation, housing and land. A trigger event, or set of conditions, can easily ignite flames.
After two years of hardship due to COVID-19, there have been other setbacks. Earlier this year, KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country were hit hard by devastating floods, causing further trauma.
In other parts of the country, drought is causing severe water shortages, bringing with it a new source of insecurity and instability.
Unemployment has increased. Many of the employed people are failing to make ends meet. The violent rhetoric that is taking place against migrants may almost be out of the playbook of July 2021. Rhetoric includes the spread of unapproved videos designed to incite tension and fear.
The Ukraine war has severely affected energy security and food security, which has had an impact on the cost of living in South Africa.
problem solving
Ramaphosa has acknowledged the lack of leadership on the part of the government, adding that his cabinet accepts responsibility for the violence. He promised to run a national response plan to address the vulnerabilities the expert panel identified. This included filling critical vacancies in the security services and appointing new leadership.
A new National Police Commissioner has been appointed. Similarly, there is a new head of the State Security Agency. And the Treasury has released funds to recruit and train more police officers to strengthen public order policing.
Since last year, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS has been responding regularly to unrest. This is welcome, but law enforcement agencies run the risk of being pulled over if they do not base their operational plans on credible intelligence .
The recent findings of the Inquisition’s capture of the state point to hollowness and abuse for the political end of the intelligence services during the Zuma era. It is therefore not surprising that the security sector was not so prepared to avoid violent unrest.
If there is one area in which all security services need to improve their capabilities, it is in the most advanced methods of technological surveillance and digital intelligence. The era of fake news and propaganda requires a new generation of personnel with digital skills.
Security services need to be better prepared in the event of a similar outbreak of violence.
They need to hone their skills and improve the coordination of local, provincial and national government roles and resources with emergency services, civil society, business and private security providers. There is also a need to improve intelligence capability and work together with communities, business and civil society for more timely exchange of information.
But, the state cannot outsource its overall constitutional responsibility to guarantee public safety and security. Intelligence services should use legal means to alert the government and the country of the threats to security.
Other countries teach a lesson. When the powers of the police are not well regulated and legally monitored, the space created can be filled by militias, vigilantes and people trading on the vulnerability of other communities.
what is next
On the anniversary of the July unrest, the people of South Africa are calling for accountability and justice. Many feel frustrated by weak governance, political dysfunction and economic inequality – mainly at the expense of the country’s poverty-stricken black majority.
Presenting the State Security Budget vote for 2022/23, Minister in the Presidency, Mondali Gungubele, promised a principled shift away from “state security” towards a people-centred notion of security.
The need for such a change was also highlighted in the report of a panel appointed by Ramaphosa in June 2018 to review the functioning of the country’s intelligence services.
The President has also promised an inclusive process of developing a national security strategy. Civil society bodies should use this opportunity to table their demands.
South Africa needs a multi-pronged strategy to build peaceful, sustainable neighbourhoods, communities and a nation where the rule of law prevails.
New concepts of security are needed that reflect a people-centred ethos. In the face of violent and destabilizing crimes similar to the July events, the country may need to review the mandates, capabilities and resources of security services.
It does not mean an increase in the use of lethal force. Methods aimed at reducing conflict, involving community leaders, and preventing bloodshed are needed. There is a need for serious and dedicated security services and accountable political representatives to oversee the services to avoid abuse of power.
An attached citizen is also one who acts legally to protect the country from civil strife. The people of South Africa should consider carefully whether to institutionalize the many acts of heroism displayed over the past year. These include automatically formed community patrols to protect shopping centers and private security companies assisting the police with operational equipment.
South Africa can hope to avoid a repeat of the events of July 2021. But this requires a recalculated security sector that is effective, accountable, accountable, serving the country’s democracy and not the interests of a few who manipulate them for personal or partisan gains.