Johannesburg - EFF in Gauteng has requested that all provincial and local government operations be suspended tomorrow.
Tomorrow, South Africa will engage in a national shutdown, which will see all activities non-operational across the board.
It is expected that all roads and facilities throughout the province will be closed and that regular business operations will be difficult or impossible.
The EFF has informed all Gauteng public institutions, including the speaker of the Gauteng Legislature, MECs, HODs and managers in all province departments, speakers of all Municipal and District Councils, MMCs, Whips of Councils and City managers of the national shutdown.
“This national shutdown is a call for an end to load shedding, which has left our society in darkness and businesses struggling to make ends meet, small businesses closing down and unemployment and crime levels rising,” CMSR Nkululeko Dunga, EFF provincial chairperson, said.
“The people have lost patience with the status quo because of the social ills, sicknesses, poverty, murder and all the atrocities taking place in our cities, townships and rural areas.
“The rich have become richer and the poor have been neglected under this administration; as a result, the people have decided to take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction.”
He said the national shutdown would also be calling for Ramaphosa to step down as president of the country.
“After engaging in money laundering, tax evasion and keeping foreign currency in his Phala Phala farm without declaring it to the South African Revenue Service and the South African Reserve Bank, the man has lost authority to continue holding the presidency.
“He has also exploited and rendered state institutions such as the Public Protector, the National Prosecuting Authority and Parliament compromised just to avoid accountability.
“Moreover, the man has presided over the collapse of our state-owned entities such as Eskom, SAA, Denel, Transnet, the Post Office, etc with an agenda to usher in privatisation.”
He added that the shutdown was being called and supported by the EFF and various political organisations, civil society, labour formations, businesses and the community at large.
“This is a shutdown of the people, and it represents the genuine and legitimate cries of the masses on the ground.
“The EFF Gauteng wants to advise that all the above-mentioned offices and stakeholders place all government processes on hold for the day. This should include all municipal activities such as councils, committee meetings, oversight visits, scheduled executive programmes and any other provincial and local government day-to-day business.
“A leadership that has the best interest of the public servants at heart would be wise not to insist on compelling public servants to report to work, even and particularly when it is clear that conditions will not be allowing.
“A responsible government will not use its employees as test subjects to test the ground with their bodies,” Dunga said.
The Star