POLL | Should the EFF be made to comply with level 3 lockdown?

EFF leader Julius Malema called on the government to speed up the vaccine rollout to ensure the safety of citizens and front-line workers.

The EFF has been opposed to October's local government elections, saying it will be dangerous to hold them while Covid-19 is still rampant. Why, then, would Julius Malema now call on his supporters to ignore regulations and hold sleep-ins at the SAHPRA CEO's home? Cynics will probably enlighten us.
The EFF has been opposed to October's local government elections, saying it will be dangerous to hold them while Covid-19 is still rampant. Why, then, would Julius Malema now call on his supporters to ignore regulations and hold sleep-ins at the SAHPRA CEO's home? Cynics will probably enlighten us. (Alaister Russell/The Sunday Times)

EFF leader Julius Malema sparked debate on social media this week when he claimed his party will defy lockdown regulations announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.

The president announced that SA would move to alert level 3 of the nationwide lockdown with tighter restrictions amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. 

Addressing a Youth Day commemoration rally on Wednesday, Malema said the party will not comply with the tightened regulations.

He called on the government to speed up the vaccine rollout to ensure the safety of citizens and front-line workers.

“We will not listen to Ramaphosa without a plan. What is the way out of this thing? If we were in government as the EFF, we would have taken 15 million doses of Sputnik [V] from Russia, and 15 million offered by the Chinese. We'd have 30 million doses here,” he said.

Malema said the EFF will only comply after the government has administered enough vaccines.

“From today, we don't listen to what Ramaphosa says about coronavirus, we don't comply with the nonsense he says about [coronavirus] until he gives us the vaccines and vaccinates our people.”