The Mpumalanga Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Ms Sibongile Manana wants all the people involved in violent and unlawful activities during the recent protests in Ogies and Leslie to be arrested and charged.
She calls on the police to work closely with the National Prosecution Authority to convert the charges from malicious damage to property to a hefty charge, including arson. According to Manana, the charges alone should serve as a deterrent in order to prevent similar incidences from happening in the province.
Manana's condemnation comes after community members went on rampage, and blocked nearby roads, after they failed to hand over a memorandum. More than ten vehicles including trucks were damaged. A police Casper was also burnt during the protests in Ogies.
Manana says: "Government respects the right of the people to demonstrate, protest in order to voice their frustrations, however, protesters should respect the rights of other people. This is clear and means that it is not necessary to attack other people and to damage or burn property".
"People should realize that burning property is not a solution to their problems, but they make things worse because funds for replacing or repairing the property is taken from tax payers", says Manana.
She wants the police to thoroughly investigate these cases so that the courts are able to secure convictions against the suspects.
Manana calls for lawful and peaceful protests to avoid any unnecessary unrest that impacts negatively on government, business and the community.
"When people decide to engage or embark on a protest, they are expected to follow the legal process. The key issue is to comply with the provisions of the Gatherings Act, and cooperate with the police," she said.
The protests occur merely a day after the province organized a summit to the deal with matters associated with service delivery protests, particularly the unlawfulness and the violence linked to these protestations.