Monitoring agency Municipal IQ recorded 410 major service delivery protests from 2009 to 2012 (with sustained protests over multiple days as a single occurrence) while the South African Police Service (SAPS) recorded 3258 service delivery protest incidents over the same time period. (bit.ly/WJLdej)
This week’s theme: Access to services
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Such a major discrepancy reflects not only different data (SAPS database vs., mainly, media reports), but also a different methodology. Municipal IQ records major protests (captured in the media) staged against local government specifically, and as once off if they are over several days or weeks, whereas SAPS could record dozens of entries for the same event. The two sets, however, show a consistent upward trend over time.