The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have announced that they will be participating in a planned nationwide shutdown on Monday, March 20. In essence, the demonstration is directed against everything that is wrong with South Africa, but EFF leader Julius Malema is focusing on two particular issues: load shedding and president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa and the Phala Phala affair have become the EFF’s focal point for all the problems the nation is experiencing. The party also attributes the power outage and the issues at Eskom to the president and the ANC. The nation to close for the day. Party members have warned stores and factories in various places to shut down “to avert the plunder”.
The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) has authorised the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) to demonstrate. The second-largest union in the nation, SAFTU, is thought to represent about 800,000 workers. Other organisations, such as smaller political parties like the United Democratic Movement, have agreed to participate in the shutdown (UDM).
South Africa’s largest union federation Cosatu has not yet announced that it will participate in the protest; nonetheless, the shutdown is anticipated to occur while other unions associated with Cosatu are on strike.