Members of the South African National Defence were on Friday set to hit the streets of the Western Cape as a proactive precaution.
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre has been informed that the SANDF will be deploying as part of the national deployment of soldiers gazetted earlier this week amid the looting and civil unrest that broke out earlier this week in Gauteng, and still continues in KwaZulu-Natal.
In KZN and Gauteng in the meanwhile, mop up operations were continuing as stakeholders continue to band together to rebuild in the aftermath of the violent and fiery and destructive riots.
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INSURRECTION – President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused the instigators of the past week’s looting and violence of trying to destabilise the constitutional order in the country.
“Those behind these acts have sought to provoke a popular insurrection amongst our people,” he said in an address to the nation on Friday night.
Hours after issuing a public statement denying any role in the ongoing and crippling unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, former top spy and SA ambassador to Japan, Thulani Dhlomo, has reportedly handed himself to the police.
Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Friday said the death toll from the violent protests has risen to 212 and arrests to 2554.
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza says the stability of the agriculture sector is critical to ensuring food insecurity does not become a reality, following days of unrest in KwaZulu-Natal.
The deployment of the 25 000 members of the South African Defence Force is effective from July 12 to August 12, at an estimated cost of R615 665 500.
A senior politician in Joburg is in hot water for allegedly inciting his supporters to attack malls on the West Rand and to kill any person who attempted to block their action.
TEACHERS’ unions and education activists have spoken out against the damaging and looting of schools in KwaZulu-Natal during the unrest.
According to a KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spreadsheet at least 32 schools including education centres had been vandalised or looted during the KwaZulu-Natal violence.
Free Zuma campaign gives Ramaphosa 14 days to respond to demands
President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation on Friday night
Carvin Goldstone encourages communities to clean up their areas
Residents in KwaZulu-Natal who have barricaded their communities and have set up neighbourhood watches and patrols to protect themselves from looters have turned to Zello, a walkie-talkie app to communicate with each other and co-ordinate their efforts.
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UNPRECEDENTED | Police Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale said on Friday that in recent weeks the SAPS have experienced moments which were unprecedented in the history of the country.
“We have encountered a moment none of us thought would ever happen, where we had to act against a former head of state, in this case former president Jacob Zuma, for a sentence meted out by the Constitutional Court,” Mathale said.
Beaches on the KZN North Coast are closed amid a chemical spillage.
eThekwini municipality announced a joint decision with the KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) Department and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to close the beaches north of uMgeni estuary due to the environmental and potential human health impact of a chemical spillage into the Umhlanga Lagoon.
Several eThekwini healthcare facilities opened for emergencies on Friday.
This follows a week of looting and violent unrest in the province.
The City said limited services were on offer due to staff shortages.
Qhawe Sithole, the Ubuntu Wealth CEO who was this week arrested for alleged looting has been released on bail, while his alma mater, Hilton College has threatened to expel him from its Old Boys societies.
Sithole, the founder and CEO of the Pretoria-based Ubuntu Wealth Management,
was later suspended by his company for allegedly looting a washing machine, a bar stool, alcohol, a bicycle and braai accessories, items which were found in his Jeep Wrangler at a police roadblock in Durban.
GRIM OUTLOOK | Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said the combination of Covid-19, the unrest and looting and the already poor economy was a “triple whammy”, and for the rest of the year, the economy is going to struggle.
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CHARGE THEM WITH TREASON | THE DA will lay treason and terrorism charges against unnamed instigators of the #FreeJacobZuma protests and the subsequent looting KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng it accuses of trying to overthrow President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the official opposition had seen WhatsApp chats between individuals who identified themselves as members of ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal.
She said the messages appeared to indicate their intentions to destabilise and remove the current government.
More here
N3 HIGHWAY REOPENED | The N3 Toll Route between Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal and Heidelberg in Gauteng has been fully re-opened.
This follows the full closure of the southern section of the route shortly before midnight on Sunday, 11 July 2021. Violent unrest first broke out a week ago, on Friday night (09 July 2021) in the vicinity of Mooi Plaza when 23 trucks were torched.
With the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and support of local authorities, on Wednesday and Thursday this week, N3TC and its service providers could commence with urgent maintenance and repair works to prepare the road for re-opening.
N3 Toll Concession operations manager Thania Dhoogra said: “As a general safety precaution, it is highly recommended that long-distance trips are undertaken during daylight hours.
“Although the N3 Toll Route is now open, N3TC appeals to road users to please travel with utmost caution and patience, and to adhere to all safety precautions and regulations,” stresses Ms Dhoogra.
VOW TO CRACK DOWN: Gauteng Premier David Makhura has warned that some of the people who looted ATMs at various malls in the province are well trained and do so using heavy artillery. Read more here1.36pm
TREASON CHARGES LOOM: The DA will lay charges of treason and terrorism against the instigators of the unrest that led to widespread looting and destruction in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.The DA said in a statement on Friday it had seen WhatsApp chats between individuals who have identified themselves as being part of a number of ANC branches in KZN, whose messages appear to indicate their intentions to destabilise and remove the current government.