On 13 November 2018, the usually peaceful West Coast town Vredenburg was disrupted by severe protest actions during which the main entry route into town was blocked off and even the police station was raided and pelted with stones. One policeman was injured.
Some concerned parents decided to fetch their children from school and by late morning, some schools even considered closing for the duration of the protect action. It seems as if the same pattern that was followed in various other incidents across the province earlier this year repeated itself here today.
People who apparently live outside of the region or province settle in a specific place for a short period of time and then before too long they demand housing and services in a clearly orchestrated protest action.
In similar incidences that occurred in places like Mitchells Plain and Hermanus earlier this year, it came to light that trade unions and political parties, like the ANC and the EFF, were a major drive behind the unrests.
The communities of Philippi, Westlake, Parkwood, Dunoon, Riebeek West and Riebeek Kasteel shared the same fate and there were even a few incidents of violent protest actions in the Bo Kaap.
The real reason for the unrest in Vredenburg is still not clear, but in the other similar cases, it was mainly illegal land occupations that evolved into violent protest actions as soon as the police intervened.
The common denominator between these incidents is the high level of violence that accompanied the protests, as was also the case in Vredenburg today.
The great influx of people into the Western Cape is causing a serious need for housing in regions where there were no housing problems in the past and the DA provincial government seems unable to take control of the situation.
The FF Plus will join hands with these communities so as to ensure that law and order is maintained for the sake of the law-abiding citizens whose interests must be top priority.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Dr Corné Mulder on FF Plus
South Africa Today – South Africa News
