Protests have been breaking out, for various reasons, across the Cape, the latest of which is taking place today.

Workers and business owners in the restaurant and hospitality industry took to the streets last week to call on government to save jobs and make it possible for them to survive the lockdown, only to be met with water cannons and stun grenades.

Today, a group that claims to represent the interests of minority groups, with a focus on what they refer to as the “so-called coloured community” in Cape Town, plan on shutting down the metropole.

Under the banner of ‘Gatvol Capetonian’, the group will be protesting in at least 15 areas in Cape Town, for the second time. The first protests took place in August last year.

News24 reports that the self-described “pressure group”, will be “shutting down the city” in an attempt to “highlight the plight of backyard dwellers”.

In a media statement, published on Facebook, the group said that following their protest last year, nothing was done to improve the situation, so they’re “shutting down” again.

“Over the past year, our situation has gotten worse, and we are nowhere near a solution. People are still being evicted and thrown to the streets during this time of natural disaster, with no concern for their health and safety,” the statement read.

“We will keep shutting down until we are heard and until actual action is taken in alleviating the above issue.”

The statement in full, here, which advocates for a peaceful protest:

A viral video, which first appeared on the Gatvol Facebook page, in which a member of the movement outlines the reasons for the protest action, has been doing the rounds on social media:

Cape Town – #ALERT Gatvol, The Movement#Shutdown Event: this coming Monday, 27th July 2020 pic.twitter.com/LayISH5SMZ

— Rob Beezy (@TrafficSA) July 25, 2020

The Cape Coloured Congress also rallied for supporters to join today’s action:

GATVOL is Onse Mense 🙊👏👏 pic.twitter.com/eCcIflonfv

— Hetta Lombard (@Liewe_Hets) July 26, 2020

Mayor Dan Plato says that the protest intends to “terrorise law-abiding citizens” and therefore needs to be quashed.

“It cannot be that a so-called ‘shutdown’ is announced and promoted in advance by opportunistic political groupings, who plan to infringe on the rights of residents,” Plato said in a statement.

“I call on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to prevent those intending to terrorise law-abiding residents [on Monday]. I have written to the Western Cape provincial commissioner, urging a coordinated law enforcement response to protect residents.”

The City’s safety and security mayoral committee member, JP Smith, said that while he respects the right of citizens to protest, those protests need to happen in a peaceful way that doesn’t include the destruction of property, violence, or road blockages.

“The City has been compelled, along with the South African Police Service, to act against violent protesters over the last two weeks, and almost 30 arrests have been effected,” Smith said.

“Redirecting policing resources to the intended protest actions will have the outcome of distracting police from dealing with problems with gang violence and the current state of land invasions, which may therefore lead to more unlawful occupation of land.”

The following notice of warning was issued by the Department of Defense on July 24, outlining the safety and security measures that they plan on taking should things turn violent or disruptive, along with guidelines for those living in or around the areas marked for protest action:

As of this morning, according to News24, five people have been arrested in Steenberg and in Jakes Gerwel Road in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, after protesters burnt tyres and barricaded roads, with one report of stone-throwing.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said there were protests in Steenberg, Bishop Lavis, Lwandle, Eerste River, Kraaifontein, Mitchells Plain, Mamre, Delft, Bellville, and South Atlantis.

“SAPS (South African Police Service) members with metro police and traffic services are busy opening closed roads. Small groups are gathering in some areas,” Potelwa said.

Those travelling to and from work are advised to check traffic and reports of protest action in their areas before heading out.

[source:news24&news24]