Editor – Every single day, there is a protest somewhere in South Africa. Our town has had its fair share of protests, like the one that brought economic transactions to a virtual grinding halt on Tuesday.
In the broader scheme of things, how significant are the recent wave of protests that have engulfed South Africa over the past decade?
Are they another means of pressurising the ruling African National Congress (ANC) into delivering better services, or do they represent a new form of anti-systemic politics that promises to change how society is organised, and for the better?
On the one hand, the protests are of such a scale and intensity that they represent a broader ‘rebellion of the poor’.
On the other hand, the protests are a means of calling the ANC to account, while remaining supportive of its broad political direction and the existing social order more generally. In terms of this view, the protests have limited transformative ambitions, and do not herald significant political shifts away from the ANC.
Who is right and who is wrong? How have the protests impacted on Ladysmith and surrounding areas?
While it is difficult to generalise about the characters and motivations of the protests, some general points can nevertheless still be made. Some protests were responses to the global recession, like the increase in the price of fuel, the diminishing value of the rand against the petro dollar and its knock-on effects on South Africa.
In Ladysmith, the protests voiced localised demands about poor service delivery, corrupt and unpopular councillors, as well as the high fuel price. But do they have an even broader national significance?
There can be little doubt that the protests are not sporadic events, but constitute a protest cycle which has become diffused more broadly across society. Even more significantly, the protests could and should be viewed as part of a broader protest wave, spread across various regions of our country.
If a longer range view of these events is taken, it becomes apparent that these protests are enduring.
This means that they are capable of being sustained and even escalated into insurrections.
Tuesday’s event highlighted how till points in stores ground to a trickle.
Monthly sales have definitely taken a knock, which will have a ripple effect on profit margins and cost saving measures by employers. Schools too suffered by absenteeism and concerns by parents about whether their children would return safely home.
The taxi industry showed its muscle by literally blockading entry and exit arterial points into the CBD.
The apparent lackadaisical action by the police portrayed that the security cluster is not of one mind. The cluster cannot rely on the military to turn its guns on the people and the police are under pressure from the popular push-back against police violence.
These divisions are important to recognise, as they mean that the security cluster is susceptible to political pressure.
Applying the pressure requires well-crafted political strategies which our local Council appears to be lacking.
When all these factors are considered, the importance and potentially system-changing nature of South Africa’s protests locally becomes self-evident. This means that, no matter how bleak the current period may seem, it might, just might also be pregnant with great promise.
The message to Council on Tuesday, like it or not, was quite clear: Do something positive or brace yourselves for further protests. Change is inevitable.
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