Pretoria — Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that violence and lawlessness will not be tolerated.
The Deputy President was speaking after the meeting of the Presidential Labour Working Group at the Union Buildings earlier on Tuesday.
“The law enforcement agencies will be after those that are perpetuating violence. If there are issues that need to be resolved – that can be done peacefully,” he said.
This comes as violent protests erupted in Tshwane on Monday evening. Protesters burned buses, barricaded streets with burning tyres, pelted passing motorists with stones and looted shops. Many commuters struggled to get to work this morning.
The Deputy President urged residents to use peaceful means to have their grievances addressed.
He added that the protests were against the values deeply embedded in the Constitution.
Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster Chairperson, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, at a media briefing called for calm and said government was responding adequately to the situation.
“No public space will be turned into a no-go area. Government reiterates that any form of intimidation or looting by protestors will not be tolerated,” she said.
Outcomes of the meeting
The Presidential Labour Working Group was scheduled to reflect on the work being done by government, business and labour to reignite growth so that jobs can be saved and created in the country, given the difficult economic climate.
Deputy President Ramaphosa told the media briefing at the end of the meeting that parties had agreed that a 10-member task team should be established to deal with some of the urgent matters identified.
“The meeting was clear that priority must be given to protect jobs, create more decent jobs especially for young people, and improve the working conditions of all workers in order to create a better life for all.
“We agreed to focus on improving implementation capacity especially on short term interventions that restore confidence, reduce wastage and increase support of SMMEs as measures to promote domestic demand,” he said.
The meeting also reaffirmed the commitment to work together to overcome challenges facing the country.
“We need to build on the partnership and solidarity forged, in 2008 social partners crafted a pact which protected workers from the global economic crisis.
“There is clear evidence that when all social partners work together, putting South Africa first, our resilience is fortified,” Deputy President Ramaphosa said.