EFF’s lockdown defiance could be deadly – analysts

Capitalising on government’s slow pace of Covid-19 vaccine programme, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema is dangerously using public defiance of lockdown restrictions as an electoral tool ahead of local government polls – a tactic with dire consequences for the spread of the pandemic in South Africa, warn political analysts.

Having last week addressed a massive crowd in Gauteng – despite being in contravention Covid-19 regulations – Malema has championed the lockdown defiance campaign.

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“Malema has taken a political position that threatens the lockdown and is banking on the public fatigue,” warned independent political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga.

“The prevalence of corruption and maladministration in managing the pandemic, provide a basis for the action taken by the EFF.

“The consequences of this defiance could be severe when it comes to the spread of the virus and certainly the political tailwind of this will stretch longer than the pandemic.

“The reality is that people all over the world are tired of living under what seems to be a permanent state of emergency. The defiance against this however, need not risk the lives of people.”

Institute for Global Dialogue political analyst Sanusha Naidu said: “The defiance by the EFF is trying to expose government for not being in touch with the people – not addressing the vaccine issue expeditiously.

“This suggests that the EFF isrecklessly using the vaccine as a political tool, exploiting the lockdown measures as an electoral and emotive rallying point to gain mass support for the party.

“What they don’t understand are the consequences of what this means – not only to their political supporters but what this will have for people and the electorate across the board.

“If one supporter gets infected at an EFF rally, in terms of the defiance of the lockdown measures, that person becomes a super spreader and can infect 10 other people,” said Naidu.

She added: “The multiplier effect is that it is not just EFF supporters whose lives are at stake. “When you talk responsible leadership, is where the EFF is floating with a grey area.

“The bigger question is why would you do this, when you look at grim numbers, knowing how transmissible the pandemic is?”

University of South Africa politics professor Dirk Kotze said the EFF was positioning itself ahead of the polls, having switched from being in favour of a hard lockdown last year.

He said: “Then, they criticised government for lowering the levels of restrictions.

“Now, it is no longer about the lockdown but on vaccines, calling for a roll-out of vaccines from China and Russia to be part of the mix – claiming that South Africa is merely promoting Western-made jabs, something with a colonial connotation.

“Being in the forefront of saving lives may be laudable, but not in this manner.

“UK has done well with a vaccines roll-out, but they also had to introduce hard lockdown measures.”

brians@citizen.co.za