EFF leader Julius Malema said the so-called national shutdown planned for Monday, March 20, will go ahead as planned.

Malema was addressing the media in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Malema described the protest, calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign, the “mother of all shutdowns”.

He said the protest would be non-violent.

“We have engaged with malls, businesses, shopping complexes and airports to let them know what will happen on Monday.

“We will meet with [taxi association] Santaco to also alert them that the streets will be occupied.

Malema said neither the DA “nor anybody else” will be able to stop the shutdown, which Malema described as the EFF exercising their constitutional rights.

He said the EFF planned on “shutting down the country to show the world we are concerned about the state of affairs [in the country]”.

“We welcome the support from all other organisations such as the ATM, UDM and the Saftu as they understand the importance of this protest to try to steer the country back to its former glory because it is at the brink of collapsing.”

Malema said the shutdown will not affect essential services.

“Essential services will be protected. We will make sure that essential workers reach their workplace without any difficulty. These include nurses, police and any health caregivers.”

Meanwhile, the police have issued statements saying they were prepared for the shutdown.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) have begun preparing for the day.

Mathe said: “While plans will be in place to ensure law and order, we are urging all people in this country to heed the country’s laws and not engage in acts that will result in them having criminal records.”

Mathe was responding to a video of EFF members on the back of a bakkie using a loudspeaker to caution small businesses and factories to close on the day of the shutdown.

Malema said shopping centres, shops and business owners have been warned because the EFF wants to avoid looting, Sedibeng Ster reported.

“We don’t want looting on March 20, but we know that if shops are open people exploit the situation and get involved in illegal activities. We don’t say in any of our letters that people should close their shops, we just make them aware that there will be a protest action.”