‘Friday is a normal working day’, Government
A government spokesperson said, “When citizens take to the streets illegally, we often witness violence, destruction of property and lawlessness."
THE South African government has reacted to messages over social media, calling for citizens to ‘shutdown the country’.
Since the axing of popular finance minister Pravin Gordhan on Thursday in an unexpected cabinet reshuffle by President Jacob Zuma, social media has been rife with messages calling for civil society to protest the actions of the president. They are calling for Zuma’s removal from office.
There have been messages on social media saying that citizens should ‘shutdown’ the country on Friday, 7 April, by not going to work and conducting large protests in cities around South Africa.
A statement released by the government yesterday, read, “We have noted social media messages which call for a shutdown of the country on Friday. The call made in these messages can have unexpected consequences especially for our fragile economy, business and communities.”
Government spokesperson, Donald Liphoko said, “While the public has a democratic right to embark on protest action, government does not support acts of civil disobedience and the actions of a select few to infringe on the constitutional rights of the majority.
“The statement added, “The social media messages are sent to bring the image of South Africa into disrepute, to disturb the economy and to create the impression of disorder and fear in communities.”
