• Protest action is underway across the country at the behest of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
• The so-called National Shutdown has been organised with a view to demanding an end to loadshedding and Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidency.
• South Africans are fearful that the National Shutdown will lead to a repeat of the havoc that was sown in July 2021.

Today, 20th March, may be the next day in a long weekend for many South Africans, but for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its supporters, it’s National Shutdown day.

The political party lead by the oft controversial Julius Malema, has called on its supporters and South Africans at large to shutdown the country through protest action. The goal of the protest action is to illicit an end to loadshedding and the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

While Malema has insisted that the protests are peaceful, he also called on EFF members to retaliate when provoked.

Needless to say, there are fears that the protest will descend into looting and violence as the protests in July 2021 did.

Already there are reports of road closures on Monday morning and at the weekend there was already protest action on the go. For those navigating the streets today, ill-advised as that is, knowing what is going on is vital and there are a few ways you can do that.

The first is community WhatsApp groups. Yes, these can become very annoying very quickly with everybody throwing their hat into the opinion ring but the information they relay is timely and relevant. When in doubt ask your community for the best routes to travel. Administrators in these groups would do well to request that communication is limited to information about the protest action for today.

To that end, MyBroadband last week reported that according to Fidelity ADT and Thorburn Security South Africans could experience the following today:

• National highways that may be blocked with rocks and burning tyres,
• Trucks may be unable to travel freely,
• Harbours could be locked down,
• Train track and other railway infrastructure could be damaged,
• Public transport could be inaccessible,
• Escalation of violence during confrontations with police,
• Clashes between protestors and private security protecting property,
• Coal transport may be hampered,
• Racial tensions could potentially escalate in Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal.

Social media is a fantastic resource for a wider view of the shutdown. Over on Twitter you can follow the #NationalShutdown and National Shutdown keywords for up-to-date information. Unfortunately, those keywords will also potentially contain a lot of opinion and misinformation, so be cautious about what you read and watch online.

Another useful way to see at a glance what is happening is by using Google Maps. A quick and dirty way to judge the impact of the protests is by tracking the traffic layer of Google Maps. This isn’t perfect and thankfully there are some better applications of Google’s mapping software that you can make use of.

Private security firm CAP Security has a live map of major incidents affecting residents, it will be updating this map throughout today. You can find this map here.

We’ve also found this map which went live during the 2021 protests and it appears to have been updated for the protests happening today.

The best thing one can do if they aren’t protesting is stay at home and don’t venture out if you don’t absolutely have to.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]