EFF protest on #NationalShutdown marching around Johannesburg CBD. Photo: The Citizen/Sibongumenzi Sibiya
As part of the national shutdown, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members are gathering at Church Square in Pretoria in preparation to march to the Union Building.
EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi urged protesters not to loot or engage in any violent behaviour and also urged the red berets to wait for the party leader Julius Malema.
Political parties African People’s Convention (APC), Carl Niehaus’ party – the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (ARETA), United Democratic Movement (UDM) and workers union SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) have pledged their allegiance.
Areta’s Siyalithatha Mzaidume says they are in full support of the EFF with its mandate that President Cyril Ramaphosa must go, “we are not personal, we’re just saying in his capacity as president he has completely failed our country”.
“People in this country are struggling economically, it’s a terrible state, those who are poor are getting poorer and those who are rich are getting richer.”
“We can’t stand for this kind of crisis that our future is being led in, at the end of the day it says that the youth of today are the future leaders of tomorrow.”
“We can’t stand in the side lines and pretend nothing is happening, we need to do something and today we’re doing just that.
“We want the country to understand that if we don’t take our position and not using our voices it would be saying that what ever that Chris Hani did was in vain.”
UDM members also marched from Church Square to Pretoria High Court for the matter involving rolling blackouts which is expected to be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday morning.
Musa Nekhwevha, UDM’s student leader, says there is a desperate need for change in SA, “we are tired, there is a serious power crisis in this country”.
The matter will be heard before a full bench of the high court. The UDM, metal workers union Numsa, Build One South Africa (Bosa), the Health and Allied workers Indaba Trade Union (Haitu), South African Federation of Trade Unions Saft and fourteen other applicants want the court to force government to stop rolling blackouts.
The respondents in the matter include the Eskom Board and management, the national energy regulator- Nersa, as well as the Departments of Public Enterprises, Mineral Resources and Energy.
Saftu spokesperson Trevor Shaku says the economy has failed to create decent jobs, however, even those jobs they have created do not pay decent wages.
“As a result, this has led to the further impoverishment of our people and their households, you have currently about 11 million people in this country who cannot find jobs and out of that 6.1 million of them are in a state of permanent unemployment,” he added.
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