National shutdown: Government constitutionally obligated to ensure safety of citizens

With South Africa seemingly going into a state of panic in response to the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) “mother of all shutdown”, sparking concerns of a country on the brink of chaos and collapse, experts have argued this will not be anything like the July 2021 unrest.

South Africans have been on edge for the past week in preparation for Monday, whether it’s to join the protest or prevent it.

Ministers in the security cluster have vowed to stop the EFF, be on high alert and to restore law and order.

Even President Cyril Ramaphosa has said they would “not allow anarchy and disorder.”

Misguided view

Security and policing expert Dr Johan Burger said the country’s security authorities were prepared to handle the protest.

“Everybody knows what is being planned for Monday, you don’t even need intelligence,” he said.

“But I am certain the intelligence community … will have much more information than the rest of us have through media reports.”

Geopolitical Intelligence Advisory director Lunga Dweba said South Africans could breathe a sigh of relief because the announcement of a protest had been made as far back as January, but also because the idea that the anticipated mass protest amounted to an attempt at regime change was a misguided view.

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“In other regions, no such announcement would be made until the day of the planned activities,” Dweba said.

“The second positive is that the government is vocal about its preparedness. This show of force is important, even though the protest’s organisers may see it as a major victory because it keeps the government on its toes.”

He said just like in other proactive governments, South Africa was correct in taking the threat of violence seriously, even when there was some confidence that any unlawful protest action could be defused with ease.

“The people who are vocal about Monday’s protest have made it clear what their intention is, which is to express their unhappiness with the state of affairs in the country.

“It can be accepted that citizens have every reason to be frustrated… What continues to cause concern is the reactive nature crime and violence are dealt with.

‘Reactive approach’

“The government is constitutionally obligated to ensure the safety of citizens at all times, not [only] after a threat by a political party or any other person.

“The reactive approach continues to be a cause for concern. This is potentially because South Africa and, by and large, the SADC [Southern African Development Community] region are falsely considered peaceful and stable. This view has been proven false on a number of occasions.

“South Africa has a number of well-written policy documents that lack effective implementation to address issues of violence, poverty, unemployment and inequality.

“The need for effective implementation of policies that ensures a proactive approach … is again awakened by the anticipated wave of violence.”

Police Minister Bheki Cele assured South Africans the planned shutdown won’t bring the country to a standstill and it would be business as usual, with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) also on standby.

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