Video by Timothy Bernard
Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that the July unrest was an attempted insurrection that was aimed at crippling the economy and led to the loss of hundreds of lives.
Ramaphosa told the South African Human Rights Commission hearings into the unrest on Friday that those behind the unrest had instigated and carefully planned the violence and looting.
He said the unrest left a R50 billion hole in the economy and more than 300 people were killed.
“The assault on our democracy failed because our people would not allow it,” he said.
“For one week and one day in July, we stared into the heart of darkness. We watched in horror as parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were engulfed in violence, looting and destruction,” said Ramaphosa.
He said since the unrest he had appointed an expert panel led by Professor Sandy Africa, which had since handed in its report.
The president has implemented some of the findings and recommendations of the report.
He said he had filled some of the key security structures and this included the appointment of former diplomat and deputy minister of energy Thembi Majola as director-general of the State Security Agency.
Video: Timothy Bernard/ African News Agency (ANA)
Ramaphosa has also moved the State Security Agency into the Presidency.
On Thursday he also announced the appointment of Lieutenant-General Fannie Masemola as the new national police commissioner.
The National Security Council would now meet once every two months.
The NSC had not met for years and Ramaphosa said they were now reviving it.
The security agencies would also share intelligence to prevent what happened.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele and former minister of state security Ayanda Dlodlo had publicly differed on whether there was an intelligence failure.
Dlodlo had insisted that she had given police intelligence before the unrest. But Cele denied this, saying he got the report in December, five months after the violence and looting.
Ramaphosa said those behind the violence and looting had carefully planned it.
“The fundamental cause of this unrest was a deliberate decision by certain individuals to instigate, co-ordinate and incite widespread destruction of property, violence and looting,” he said.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
POLITICAL BUREAU