The term "looting" is not a recent development in South Africa. This conduct dates back to the apartheid era and has continued during the democratic period. It refers to the actions of citizens who demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the government's policies, such as inequality, poverty, and unemployment. These actions typically involve the destruction of property, including malls and other infrastructure and trade areas within the country.
From July 9th, 2021 to the 17th, South Africa experienced a surge of violent protests and social unrest. This resulted in widespread looting of businesses and burning public facilities and private properties, predominantly in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng. The protests initially began in parts of KZN in response to the arrest and imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma, who was arrested and began serving his sentence of 15 months imprisonment for the guilt of contempt after failing to appear before the commission investigating corruption. However, it remains unclear whether the former President's arrest was truly the cause of the recent unrest in the country, or if it was simply used as a scapegoat to incite communities into rioting.
It is crucial to launch a campaign against looting to educate people about the negative consequences it has brought to the country. The province of KwaZulu Natal, where the unrest began, has witnessed a decline in the food market. Poverty levels have increased following the looting, and unemployment has also risen due to the burning of trucks and malls, where many people are employed. The closure of roads and burnt buildings has affected the businesses of those who rely on selling goods outside shopping stations and populated main roads, leaving them with no market for their products. Disruptive looting delays community progress and damages property. The affording went back to being poor while the poor became poorer. Unemployment is a bad situation that we had to grow up in, but retrenchment is much worse. Having employed parents and households lose the ability to care for their families and assets is a depressive setback.
The North region of eThekwini is surely not a hands-folding community since they have taken looting as a culture that should be prevented for the future and upcoming generations. The “Tholulwazi Organisation” from uMzinyathi has manifested a specific conduct challenge during the protests in South African Communities starting at the INK region. These include and are not limited to, the burning of public schools and clinics in an attempt to raise the issue of Load shedding. They make it clear violence will never solve the crime but create more issues that will need fixing at a later stage, and that we are destroying the future of the youth by misleading them that they need to destroy what they have to get what they do not have.
As South African citizens, we have the right to protest peacefully. However, when our protests turn violent, we lose sight of our objective, which is to make our voices heard. Therefore, it is important for us to band together as a community to protect our infrastructure, businesses, and public facilities during times of protest. Recently, the North of eThekwini has experienced unbearable hunger and high crime rates due to the loss of public infrastructure. To prevent further setbacks, the “Tholulwazi Organization” from uMzinyathi has developed new, peaceful methods for protests that will allow us to fight for our needs without sacrificing what we've already worked hard to achieve. This will help to ensure the continued development of our communities in South Africa.
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