When will it come to an end?

Others refer to them as Industrial actions, strikes, protests, or “toyi toyi” they are nevertheless all destructive and seem to be the norm in South Africa. One would have thought that the Marikana saga would have marked the end of these industrial actions that often end in bloodshed. However, the expression of both Political and economic grievances in the form of protests still persist in this country. This brings one to the questioning of the effectiveness of this country’s policies.

Considering the recent protest that has taken place in Boitumelong community in the North West Province where two media and police vehicles have been set alight, as well as community halls and foreign national’s shops it is evident that violent protests since the Marikana saga are far from ending. We still witness citizens protesting in the name of service delivery and workers in the name of wage increment. As a young South African citizen it is distressing to live in a democratic country that is not only segregated on the basis of historical events but also economically. Extrapolating from the theory of a classical sociologist Karl Marx it is evident that these protests are the results of social class conflict whereby the lives of the poor social class are dominated by elites and bureaucrats’ interests. If that is not the case then how would one explain the fact that there are only minimal protests reported to have taken places in areas like Santon and the majority in impoverished areas and townships.

On this notion it should also be noted that poverty does not justify criminal or xenophobic behaviour whereby refuge’s enterprises get destroyed in the process of industrial actions. The question we should be asking is how effective is this country’s policies in protecting the human rights of its citizens? What are we doing to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor? In my journalistic point of view promoting literacy, independency and accountability of officials is one way we could minimise the occurrence of industrial actions.