The Citizen reports that Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has urged all South Africans to take to the streets for a national shutdown on Monday, 20 March 2023.

In a video posted on the party’s social media accounts, Malema said “enough is enough, we cannot have a president that presides over a collapsed state”. He called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down immediately. “Now is the time to take action. The streets are calling, we have to occupy all the streets of South Africa. Where everyou are, make your voice be heard,” Malema said. He enumerated unemployment, lack of electricity, corruption, high crime rates, gender-based violence, and collapsed hospitals and education systems as reason to shut down the country. Malema said South Africans were “tired of corruption, the high [cost] of living; crime is too high, GBV (gender-based violence) is the order of the day”. In a separate statement, the EFF accused Ramaphosa of presiding over the collapse of state-owned enterprises such as Eskom, Transnet, Denel, SAA, and SA’s railway network. Malema also mentioned the Phala Phala scandal, accusing Ramaphosa of hoarding money while South Africans suffered from hunger and a lack of basic necessities.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cheryl Kahla at The Citizen

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