Kaya News Reporter
President Cyril Ramaphosa has released the report of the Expert Panel into the July 2021 unrest.
Ramaphosa appointed the panel in August 2021 to review government’s response to the spate of orchestrated public violence, destruction and sabotage that gripped the country.
The panel was tasked to lead a thorough and critical review of the security services’ preparedness of the series of destructive events. Mandated to examine all aspects of the security response, the panel had to further make recommendations on how to strengthen security capabilities.
Members of the panel included Prof Sandy Africa, as chair, Adv Mojanku Gumbi and Mr Silumko Sokupa.
The 154-page report details several areas that state security failed including an inefficient intelligence structure.
Failure of the relevant State institutions to conduct timely risk assessments, methods employed and inadequate equipment were all reasons for the poor management of the unrest.
The Expert Panel noted that security personnel including SANDF were unable to adapt their tactics to the situation.
Police were also overwhelmed by the number of looters.
The role of media during the unrest was also under the spotlight, with regards to whether the focus was purely on the violence and giving more publicity to the attention-seeking instigators.
Ringleaders of the violence remained predominantly faceless and no organized movement came forward to claim responsibility for violence.
The report also highlighted that poorly rolled out programmes of service delivery and unacceptable living conditions as reasons for the violent unrest.
Dysfunctional relationships between ministers and their senior leadership teams impeded synergy with the flow of intelligence, which in turn affected decision-making.
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