News24 reports that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has strongly condemned the unsanctioned inspection of company employment policies conducted by EFF leader Julius Malema and his party this week.

"[The] inspection of companies for whatever purpose is the work of officials of government. It's like going to a police station and taking over their duties. There are people who are dedicated to doing this job, and that is not the [EFF's job]," DEL spokesperson Sabelo Mali indicated. Minister Thulas Nxesi expressed similar views and said on Wednesday: “There are institutions that have been put in place to deal with such inspection visits, and this is [the] mandate of the Department of Employment and Labour, but we know that politicians can be very anxious to deal with these issues. It is important that they report these concerns [to] the Department of Labour and accompany individuals from the Department of Labour when they do site visits and not do them on their own. Politicians doing such visits on their own may be dangerous in that they may incite violence." Malema and a handful of EFF members descended on Mall of Africa in Midrand on Wednesday and, forcing their forced their way into at least three restaurants, demanding information about the ratio of foreign workers to South Africans. After the inspections, Malema conceded that contrary to his initial views, two of the three restaurants were employing more South Africans than foreign nationals. But, EFF leader said the inspections were not a once-off undertaking and threatened to conduct similar visits at farms, security companies, and the broader hospitality sector.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Juniour Khumalo at News24 (subscriber access only)
• Read too, Malema’s restaurant visit causes a stir, at SowetanLive

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