Governance Expert Warns of Protests Before 2024 General Elections, Mzansi Discusses His Predictions

• Governance expert Dr Sam Khoza said that those living in poor households are suffering from economic woes
• He pointed out that the 2024 General Elections will be met by people who are anxious for change, and these might trigger protests
• South Africans debated his predictions, and some agreed while others disagreed

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered policy changes and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

Political experts expect more civil unrest in the building-up to the 2024 General Elections. They believe that high levels of unemployment and a stagnant economy leave the lower class South Africans impatient for change.

Expert predicts protests pre-2024 Elections

According to eNCA, governance expert Dr Sam Khoza believes that evidence points out that 8 million households live on over R2000 for costs and cannot afford food. He also mentioned that communities are buckling under the pressure of a lack of service delivery, and this might trigger protests because communities are struggling under the weight of a lack of electricity, water, and jobs.

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Poor people are getting impatient

Khoza also explained that communities are becoming impatient. He added that, to a lesser extent, South Africans feel trapped, and as such, residents are starting to take action in some areas: residents refuse to pay rates and taxes until they see a change in service delivery. He pointed out that South Africans who cannot develop interventions that the middle class can afford are helpless.

“It cannot be that 30 years into democracy that some have flushing toilets and others still use bucket toilets. People ask themselves why they are in this situation. Going forward, we need to see much movement from these state institutions in terms of ability and capacity to spend capital budget because, in South Africa, we don’t have a shortage of natural resources. The issue concerns the ability to spend these funds and improve project management capacity,” he said.

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Some agree with the expert

Netizens on Facebook discussed what they believe will happen after the 2024 General Elections.

Liberty Nhlapo said:

“This thing of winning before elections will cause those unrests, especially when unexpected results come in.”

Sporo Lukhele wrote:

“The unrest will stem from the ANC supporters and the two splinter ANC parties of Ace Magashule and Jacob Zuma. The friction among these supporters will start during the campaign period.”

Others disputed his prediction

Others disagreed with Khoza.

Joseph Msimango said:

“Those predictions are just individuals’ opinions. And they already decided that the ANC is going to lose.”

Babakaveeh Magesh Mageba exclaimed:

“They are predicting unrest now.”

Chulumanco Masina:

“It will be motivated by media propaganda.”

Diepsloot residents clash with SAPS

Similarly, Briefly News reported that Diepsloot residents clashed after the area exploded in violent protests.

The residents and the South African Police Service clashed in the protest after they complained about the crime in the area. They burned homes and shops where they believed criminals were hiding. An interviewed resident begged Cyril Ramaphosa to focus his attention on South African issues and turn away from international conflict.

Source: Briefly News