'South Africans are service hungry'

The ISS has held a seminar in Pretoria with various experts to discuss reasons why South Africans protest.

FILE: Smoldering branches lay in the streets of Kya Sand after residents protested over service delivery issues on 12 October 2015. Picture: Reinart Toerien/EWN.

JOHANNESBURG - Poor local governance, inequality and poverty have been identified as the most significant drivers of service delivery protests in South Africa.

The Institute for Security Studies has held a seminar in Pretoria today with various experts to discuss reasons why South Africans take to the streets.

The experts, including Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance Andries Nel, say basic services are not yet accessible to all citizens.

Experts have been discussing the core issues behind unrest in the country and say South Africans are service hungry.

Nel says while government has made significant progress, the delivery of quality services is still not up to standard.

“That’s an area that needs to be accelerated, also the quality and consistence of those services.”

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation’s Nomfundo Mogapi says community’s usually take to the streets as a last resort.

“Communities that are agitated, frustrated and feeling stuck.”

The experts have also raised concerns over the rise in pre-election violence, which has recently hit Tshwane and KwaZulu-Natal.