Protesters against a municipal plan to merge two municipalities in South Africa because of service delivery clashed with police on Wednesday as riots raged on in the troubled town of Malamulele.

Hundreds of local residents took to the streets in protest against a municipal plan to merge Malamulele with Thulamela municipality, the Limpopo Province. Residents demand that Malamulele remains independent because service delivery in Thulamela is poor.

The protest turned violent when residents began to loot shops and disrupt the provision of services at government offices.

The intervention by police led to clashes with the protesters. So far there was no report of injuries.

The South African Police Services (SAPS) dispatched reinforcements to the area to prevent further damage of property.

The local Magistrate's Court has been shut down as court officials fear for their lives, according to the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Water supply in the town has been cut off.

Protests over poor service delivery also took place in Bekkersdal, west of Johannesburg. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters, rounding up 35 of them for their alleged involvement in violence.

Police launched a crackdown after the residents went on the rampage, barricading roads with rocks and burning tyres, police spokesperson Thembi Masango said.



A large contingent of police officers has been deployed in the township, said Masango. She said the situation has been brought under control.

The protests were the latest in a series of riots that rocked parts of the country where service delivery has been deteriorating.

South Africa is constantly haunted by protests over poor service delivery, which take place, on average, twice a week.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has made strides in improving housing while expanding access to clean water and electricity. But millions of South Africans still live in shacks without power, often sharing a single tap among dozens of households.

President Jacob Zuma vowed on Wednesday to improve service delivery in the country. He said the government has brought electricity to 6.5 million new households in 19 years. That is more than 1,300 new connections every working day.

"By 2030, the government aims to produce twice as much energy as we are producing today," Zuma said in Pretoria on the occasion of presentation of credentials by new heads of mission accredited to South Africa.

As for clean water, the target is for every household to have clean water by the year 2030, according to Zuma.