Shutdown no crisis

The Carletonville CBD looked like a ghost town on Monday morning, as many businesses had closed for fear of intimidation. Despite this, most national chain stores and other shops at Carletonville Mall continued business as usual.
Meanwhile, in Fochville, business also continued as usual at President Hyper and almost all of the surrounding shops in the mall.
Although EFF protesters did, at one stage, gather on the bridge at Khutsong Extension 5, all the roads in the area remained open, largely due to the vigilance of members of the police, the CPF (community policing forum) and private security companies.
Some displays of public violence happened around Carletonville when protesters burned tyres near the railway tracks on Agnew Road, overturned rubbish bins next to the municipal building on Halite Street, and even set a mattress alight next to the Carletonville Civic Centre on Annan Road.
The most significant incident of the day was a protest by some EFF members at the Carletonville Taxi Rank at approximately 10:00. According to an unconfirmed report, two people were arrested at the scene.
“The police and private security shot three of our members, a woman in an EFF T-shirt and two men in plain clothes who were protesting peacefully at the rank,” says the EFF’s West Rand communication officer, Mr Brian Makhaya.
He blamed the police and private security companies for being “unnecessarily harsh” and “trying to provoke the EFF members”.
Makhaya also claimed that the public violence that did occur was caused by members of other political parties trying to make the EFF look bad.
He also argued that businesses were closed because the owners “supported the EFF shutdown” and were also unhappy with load shedding and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership.
However, he noted that some EFF members went to businesses early in the morning to tell owners to close.
“We are very satisfied with how the shutdown went around here,” Makhaya told the Herald.
According to unconfirmed reports, the police and Gladiator arrested two people during the protest at the Carletonville Taxi Rank.
“Unfortunately, only the national office is allowed to comment,” West Rand SAPS’s communication officer, Sgt Linkie Lefakane, replied when asked about the matter.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said over 550 people were arrested countrywide during the shutdown on Monday. Those arrested faced charges like public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and attempted looting.
Gauteng recorded the highest number of arrests, with 149 people apprehended. Police also seized 24,300 tyres that had been “strategically placed for acts of criminality”, said Mathe.