PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS & VIDEOS - Plettenberg Bay may be a small coastal holiday town, but its residents took a massive stand when about 2 000 people participated in three anti-Zuma protests in solidarity with the rest of the country on April 7.
The biggest of the gatherings took place in the town’s Main Street at noon, when more than a thousand residents stood side by side against President Jacob Zuma.
This follows national outcry after Zuma’s recent decision to fire yet again Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, as well as his deputy Mcebisi Jonas during a cabinet reshuffle just over a week ago.
The decision has since had a major impact on the country’s economy after the downgrading to junk status by not only Standard & Poor but also Fitch.
This led to nationwide marches and gatherings by South Africans on Friday for Zuma to step down.
While there were no speeches, residents made their voices heard when locals of different political affiliations, religions, backgrounds and walks of life took hands and sang the country’s national anthem.
This was followed by the blowing of vuvuzelas and chanting “Zuma must fall. Zuma must fall”.
Protestors also expressed their disdain with their posters, some of which read, “United we stand”, “Zuma not my president”, “Save SA” and “It’s time for a president reshuffle”.
After about half-an-hour the crowd peacefully dispersed.
Resident Janet Harding said the reason for the action was that citizens could no longer stand watching while "one man destroyed the country South Africans love".
Harding said there were no speeches as the gathering was not a political activity, but rather a community one.
Active United Front (AUF) mayor Peter Lobese, however, did make a statement earlier that he had made a call on all parties in coalition with the ANC in the various municipalities across the nation to pull out of those coalitions in protest following the recent events around Zuma. “And so we shall,” Lobese said about his own party’s coalition with the ANC in Bitou.
Between 12:00 and 15:00, residents of The Crags outside Plettenberg Bay also held a gathering in protest against Zuma and the country’s political instability.
The protest was held on the corner of Redford Road and the N2 and was also done peacefully.
A group of residents also stood with posters displaying messages such as “Hamba Zuma”, “Jou jammer is te laat” and “Enough of corrupt government”.
Later on Friday, a small group of residents braved the cold and rainy weather that swept over Plett to gather at Central Beach to voice their concerns over the state of the nation.
Despite the rain, residents came with umbrellas and posters and sang the national anthem together before dispersing peacefully.
“We can understand that only a few showed up, but we have shown that we care and we stood up and were counted,” resident Jean Sparg said to those huddled up under umbrellas.
Watch 2 videos below:
Plettenberg Bay residents standing together during the protest against President Jacob Zuma.
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ARTICLE, VIDEOS & PHOTOS: YOLANDé STANDER, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD CORRESPONDENT
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