Kaveel Singh, News24
Durban – Social media has united thousands of South Africans who are calling for President Jacob Zuma to step down from his position as number one citizen.
This comes after a number of shuffles in the vital Ministry of Finance were made this past week. In the latest change, Pravin Gordhan was redeployed late on Sunday as Minister of Finance to replace David Van Rooyen, who spent just four days in the position after the removal of Nhlanhla Nene.
Van Rooyen has been moved to Gordhan’s previous portfolio as the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
Zuma has been heavily criticised for the changes, with the rand going on a downward spiral after Nene was originally sacked.
By the Monday, several Facebook pages had been created with tens of thousands of people from major cities across the country calling for peaceful marches on December 16.
Thus far, event pages for protest marches have been created for Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Most of the #Zumamustfall event pages were created by an organisation called United Against Corruption.
Speaking to News24, United Against Corruption steering committee member Miles Giljam said the shuffle in the Finance Ministry showed a lack of leadership.
“We cannot be pacified by the improved economic indicators. It is crucial for South Africans to push with every fibre of their exhausted pre-holiday bodies for Zuma to be recalled.
“To understand why we need to know the real cause of the crisis was not economic - it was about trust. Markets are held together by trust. The economic issues were a symptom of a lack of trust in our President and his intentions in firing Nene. The improvement in the Rand only reflects trust in the independence of the new finance minister Pravin Gordhan.