National Shutdown Postponed Amid Police Pressure, Calls for Peaceful Protest

LOCAL NEWS

• Organizers of the national shutdown initially planned for Monday say the protest has been postponed until further notice, given the heightened security and response from authorities.
  • Organisers say approval for the protest was also not granted on time, noting there has been confusion around the intention of the march, with security authorities preparing for looting and riots – but the organisers say that the intention was never to do so and that it was planned as a peaceful protest
• ANC factional lines and loyalties are now being brought into question, specifically focusing on social development minister Lindiwe Zulu and how and why she published a deeply controversial Green Paper calling for higher taxes and mandatory payments to the state, without the contribution from other vital portfolios such as National Treasury.
  • Analysts speculate that Zulu is aligned with the Zuma faction within the ANC, and the timing of her Green Paper comes at a politically difficult period for the party. With most lightning rods for the faction falling apart – such as 'white monopoly capital' and 'radical economic transformation' – the basic income grant may be the next rallying call
• FinMin Godongwana says he is open to Eskom's R180bn plan for Green financing, but notes it must be within the debt envelope.
  • He said, however, that the proposal has not yet reached his desk or been explored in any detail by the Treasury, which would be required by lenders to guarantee debt raised through the facility