Wayile told the city council the city municipality of the city formerly known as Port Elizabeth had been “gripped by an unfortunate and destruc-tive wave of violent protests which have been occurring intermittently for a while now”. Acknowledging that some of the protestors were “genuinely concerned by the sometimes slow pace of service delivery,” Wayile said that it would be “naïve to believe that there is no element instigating and fuelling the violent and destructive behaviour witnessed”.
He said a Police report confirmed this contention, adding that what was disconcerting was the failure by the Police to provide intelligence – “the people must be meeting somewhere before they go and burn property”. Six ward councillors’ offices have been burned down while in others “we have witnessed the forceful closure of councillor’s offices… leading to violent clashes among fellow community members.
“This state of affairs cannot continue, residents of the city need leadership not political squabbles, nor do they desire violent confrontation.”
The city recently experienced water shortages and power cuts in events that have been linked to the city managers’ inability to maintain basic infrastructure.
