By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the only recognised means of changing a regime in South Africa is through elections and not “attempts to promote an insurrection.”
Ramaphosa weighed in on the planned EFF shutdown saying South Africa will “not allow anarchy and disorder.”
“We met with our security cluster yesterday, and they will defend our people from any planned attempts to destabilise the country,” said Ramaphosa.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the state visit by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the Union Buildings on Thursday.
Ramaphosa emphasised that although the right to protest is guaranteed in the Constitution, it does not allow for the rights of others to be infringed.
“The right to protest is enshrined in our Constitution. It’s deeply embedded in our Constitution and it is a right that we as South Africans fought for and won so that South Africans can protest against what may be issues that they don’t agree with.
“But that right is not absolute and nobody can stand up and say I can do whatever I want. That right is not absolute. It is a limited right. It’s not underpinned by violence. It’s not a right that allows anyone to embarking on anarchy or disorder. It is a right that says, ‘you must respect the rights of others’.
“It is not a right for anyone to coerce anybody to do what they want to do and it is not a right that you have to intimidate others and to threaten others with violence and say, ‘If you do not do what we like, we are going to take action against you’. That completely goes against the ethos of our Constitution,” he said.
Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to protest against load shedding, and other socio-economic issues, alongside the EFF.
They will also call on Ramaphosa to step down.
Ministers in the government’s security cluster briefed journalists at a media conference on the Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday.
Asked if the SANDF would be deployed in affected areas, Defence Minister Thandi Modise said: “We are on standby. There is capacity, and South Africans, they will be protected and not be violated.”
She also said one weakness for the security cluster was that people were allowed to use social media to plan riots and intimidate others.
“This time we will not let it go. That is a weakness that we will accept,” she said.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said government lauded residents and businesses who refused to be intimidated or bullied. He gave the assurance that all citizens and their property would be protected.
“We also want to caution against the spreading of messages of fear, intimidation or inflammatory statements that could incite violence. This is a criminal offence. We are aware of many social media accounts claiming that hundreds and thousands of followers are being mobilised to support the protest.”
Meanwhile several civil rights organisations have released a statement condemning the planned shutdown by the EFF.
In a statement on Thursday, the organisations said they reject the “forced national shutdown” by the EFF and that even though South Africans have a Constitutional right to march or protest, that needs to take into account the rights of others.
“Therefore, any attempt at preventing those who may not support the shutdown from going to work, to school, or university infringes on their Constitutional rights,” reads the statement.
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) also condemned the EFF’s warnings of violence against businesses that do not support the national shutdown.
It said that the right to protest is enshrined in the constitution, but it cannot infringe on the rights of others.
“Looting, violence, incitement, and intimidation are criminal acts that are not protected by the Constitution and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” it said.
It added that the shutdown would further aggravate a dire economic state and threaten workplaces and incomes, resulting in increased hardship for many South Africans.
BUSA CEO Cas Coovadia questioned the EFF’s motivations for the protest.
“We think it is counter-intuitive to demand a stay away to protest against joblessness, to protest against the problems we are having in energy, to protest against an economy that is not growing… To actually address those crises, we need people at work, we need an economy that grows, we need businesses to operate and grow so that they can employ more people.”
He added that the organisation received no indication from its members that they would close on Monday. However, some may take extra precautions – such as having additional security.
He believes that employed South Africans want to protect their jobs and do not see the shutdown as a positive call.