March 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has called on Monday for South Africans to take to the streets en masse to protest the continuous blackouts that the country is suffering and to demand the resignation of the president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Malema has assured that electricity “is a privilege for a few”, while he has highlighted the importance of a president who avoids leading South Africa “to collapse”, as he asserted in a speech broadcast on social networks.
“The streets are calling. We are going to occupy all the streets of South Africa, wherever you are, make your voice heard (…) If you do not have electricity by (the public company) ESKOM, stand up and let this know Government that you are tired,” he said.
Thus, he has also urged people tired of corruption, the high cost of living, the malfunctioning of hospitals or the fact that there has been an increase in crime to demonstrate.
Malema’s remarks come days after Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster across the country in an effort to deal with the energy crisis.
The country’s power plants have been registering a multitude of blackouts for months while breakdowns are becoming more frequent. Meanwhile, public electricity utility Eskom is struggling financially to keep its combined cycle gas turbines running. The utility has also previously been forced to shut down some of its power plants, making the situation worse.
