South Africa had almost one protest every second day this year, according to a report by local government data and intelligence service company Municipal IQ.
Municipal IQ’s Municipal Hotspots Monitor shows that while protests are off the high of 2012, the numbers are still worryingly high.
Gauteng and the Eastern Cape were the most protest-ridden provinces in 2013, accounting for 50% of the country’s service delivery protest action.
Karen Heese, Municipal IQ economist says, “What is worrying about the Eastern Cape, is that protests did not only take place in urban areas, … like those in Uitenhage [in November], but they spread to smaller towns like Cookhouse and Port St Johns and more remote areas like Matolweni.”
There were fewer protests in the Western Cape, Free State, North West and Mpumalanga this year than in the past nine years.