Police are maintaining strong presence in various parts of Gauteng following this morning's service delivery protests. The action follows residents of Protea-Glen, Dobsonville-Gardens in Soweto, Ennerdale in FineTown and Reiger Park on the East Rand blocking roads with burning tyres this morning.

They are angry over what they call the slow pace and lack of service delivery.

"Five people were arrested in Reiger Park for public violence but, so far most of these service delivery protests have been brought under control," says police spokesperson, Katlego Mokgale.

Today, the Gauteng ANC called for calm in the province following a recent spate of violent service delivery protests. "We appeal to communities to remain calm and to exercise patience and tolerance. The ANC will send a team of leaders to speak to the people about their concerns and determine appropriate measures to resolve the problems," said spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli in a statement.

The ruling party was concerned about a systematic pattern in the protests.

Co-ordinated protests

"The protests are co-ordinated with a clear objective to destabilise government. The ANC calls for communities not to be used by people who have ulterior motives".

The ANC in the meantime has called on all its branches to address the issues of protests. However, the ruling party acknowledged that many communities were demanding progress in "development in their area and acceleration of service delivery".

There were violent protests in Mamelodi - Pretoria early in the week. The protests were apparently related to residents’ impatience about a backlog in government housing. City of Tshwane spokesperson Console Tleane said protesters fired live ammunition at firemen, pelted police with stones and barricaded several roads in Mamelodi East. – additional reporting by Sapa