Gauteng Premier David Makhura says state security institutions were ill-prepared for last week’s unrest and exposed the country to outside threats such as terrorist organisations.
He was speaking during a virtual meeting attended by various civil society groups, to discuss the recent riots and looting of businesses in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Makhura says the information sent to the police about the impending shutdowns were largely ignored by law enforcement agencies.
He says some of the attacks were from people within hostels, which he described as hubs of criminality. Makhura says the failure by state security institutions means that the citizens remain vulnerable to both internal and external threats.
“Forces such as terrorist groups, we know our continent has got a lot of those social forces such as ISIS. Not far from here in Mozambique, there is Cabo Delgado that instability. Looking at South Africa’s state security apparatus, we have been extremely exposed. So, anybody sitting there thinks South Africa has got no state security capacity to defend itself and defend its people.
Dialogue with Premier David Makhura on the recent violence and looting:
Below is a picture gallery of the Gauteng Premier cleaning a looted shopping centre:
