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<font size=4><b>Police fire on S African protests <br><br>
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<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/10/2009101316543054590.html" eudora="autourl">
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/10/2009101316543054590.html</a>
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009 <br>
21:56 Mecca time, 18:56 GMT <br><br>
South African police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at
demonstrators protesting against poor living conditions during a rally in
the country's northeast.<br><br>
Riot police opened fire on Tuesday to disperse protesters who had torched
a municipal office in the eastern town of Belfast, the Associated Press
news agency said, quoting Captain Leonard Hlathi, a police
spokesman.<br><br>
Two police officers were injured by stone-throwing demonstrators, the
spokesman said.<br><br>
Police also clashed with demonstrators in several other northeastern
towns, where protesters are calling for better sanitation, electricity
and housing in impoverished townships.<br><br>
In the town of Standerton, southeast of Johannesburg, burnt tyres and
rubbish filled the streets, and several people were reported injured in
the protest.<br><br>
Meanwhile, towns and shops were closed after thousands marched on the
municipal offices in the nearby township of Sakhile.<br><br>
<b>Pressure on Zuma<br><br>
</b>The six-month-old government of Jacob Zuma, the country's president,
is under pressure to deliver on campaign promises and improve basic
services such as water and electricity in South Africa.<br><br>
Zuma has promised to ease inequalities in the country, but he has said
the government has fallen short in meeting demands for better basic
services.<br><br>
His government has set up a special hotline to deal with complaints, but
a spokesman for the president says he will not meet protesters.<br><br>
But Sipho Seepe, a political columnist writing with the <i>Mail and
Guardian</i> newspaper, said the people are not angry at Zuma.<br><br>
"They are angry at the local officials," Sepe told Al
Jazeera.<br><br>
"So we must not give the impression that this is a revolt against
the government of Jacob Zuma.<br><br>
<b>'Heightened expectations'<br><br>
</b>"What we have are more heightened expectations that came as a
result of the last elections that we had. The protests are taking
place at the local level," Sepe said.<br><br>
"What the people see is that the local government officials
represent the past regime, a regime that was arrogant and aloof. They do
not see these leaders at the local level as part of the new
regime."<br><br>
However, Hassan Isilow, a journalist in Cape Town, said Zuma should not
have made such promises for easing the economic inequalities in the
country.<br><br>
"Regrettably the president has not delivered on any of these
promises," Isilow told Al Jazeera.<br><br>
"The problem is the country is grappling with a recession, but the
local people want a better living condition regardless of the economic
situation of the country," he said.<br><br>
"People have argued that the country has a lot of resources ... but
there's a high level of corruption within the ruling ANC where top
officials within the government and the municipalities have
misappropriated funds.<br><br>
"The local people believe that, had it not been for corruption, then
service delivery would not have been a problem."<br><br>
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