EFF leader Julius Malema said his organisation would bring South Africa to a standstill with their planned national shutdown on March 20 despite opposition to their action from some quarters. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - EFF leader Julius Malema said at the weekend his organisation would bring South Africa to a standstill with their planned national shutdown on March 20 despite opposition to their action from some quarters.
Addressing the party’s Western Cape plenum in Cape Town on Saturday, Malema said his party did not need permission to embark on its planned action.
“Fighters, the militancy and protest character of the EFF, the fearless character, the ground forces of the EFF, your determination to liberate the people of South Africa is going to be seen on March 20 when you bring South Africa to a standstill,” he told the members.
Malema told the province’s delegates that they should identify which road, shopping complex and city they would occupy on that day.
“On 20 March there is no work or school. No trucks will be moving,” he said, adding that the taxi association and bus operators in the Western Cape should know now.
“South Africa must come to a standstill. We must challenge white monopoly capital and we must show them we (do) not need a permit from the Ruperts and Oppenheimers, or from the ANC and (ANC secretary-general Fikile) Mbalula, who says people must go to school and children to work,” Malema said.
He insisted that there would be no schooling or work on March 20.
“It is going to come to a standstill.
That is what the EFF is going to show, mass power.
The Western Cape cannot be a failure. You are not going to fail. Remember we are not to start at 8 o’clock in the morning.
March 20 starts at midnight ... by the time people wake up, everything is happening.”
Malema said the EFF was a protest movement and that was what they did in Parliament.
On Thursday, the EFF objected to Parliament being addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he took the institution to the Constitutional Court over the Phala Phala scandal.
Malema said he had nothing personal against Ramaphosa, whom he said he could shake hands with.
“Politically, I fundamentally disagree with him. That should (not) be confused for personal attack.
“There is nothing personal against President Ramaphosa. Personally he is very good guy,” he said.
Malema said the problem with Ramaphosa was that he did nothing while at the helm of the country.
He insisted that Ramaphosa had promised jobs, but there were none.
Malema also denied that EFF MPs were going to attack Ramaphosa when they climbed on to the stage at the Cape Town City Hall when they disrupted his State of the Nation Address.
The security services stormed the chamber when the EFF MPs suddenly jumped on to the stage with placards as they were walking out of the Chamber after making numerous points of order.
“I got to the stage to protect and hold a placard. They say I am a danger to the president ... I was going to stand on the stage with a placard and allow Ramaphosa to speak and also speak through my placard, a silent peaceful protest,” he said.
He said the Constitution protected his right to protest and he required nobody’s permission to get into protest action.
Malema told EFF members that they did not need permission for their March 20 shutdown.
Cape Times