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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today write to the Limpopo Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, to urgently increase police presence in Musina to get ahead of the escalating protests across the area.

The DA has sympathy with a frustrated community who are desperate for a consistent supply of water, but we call on calm in communities and request that the right to protest be conducted in a responsible manner.

The protest is as a result of a chronic water shortage in Musina, the delayed response in resuming normal water supply to the town as well as protracted and prolonged water disruptions.

Despite police presence, SAPS do not seem to have the situation under control.

The violent looting spree in the town centre is continuing unabated. A video is circulating on social media of a girl that was shot and the municipal office in Nancefield was torched yesterday.

This protest is an organised effort and credible intelligence would have predicted the outcome.

The DA is concerned that the Musina water protest could lead to similar levels of destruction as the Vuwani protests in 2016 during which a post office, government buildings and 31 schools were torched.

Commissioner Hadebe needs to deploy more police to the area and ensure that preventative measures are put in place to quell the violence, looting and destruction of public infrastructure.

Musina is not only a border town with the N1 running through it, but is the growth point for the Musina-Makhado Special Economic zone.

Public order needs to be restored urgently and if Limpopo SAPS are not equal to the task, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) needs to be deployed to assist.

Issued by DA Provincial Spokesperson on Transport and Community Safety Katlego Suzan Phala