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Chaos disrupts May Day rally in S. Africa

Xinhua, May 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

Chaos disrupted a May Day rally in Bloemfontein, Free State Province on Monday, prompting President Jacob Zuma to cancel his speech.

Zuma was about to speak at the rally but was booed by opponents who earlier clashed with Zuma supporters.

Several other VIPs, including African National Congress's (ANC's) National Executive Committee member Naledi Pandor, were also prevented from making a speech.

All speeches have been cancelled at the main May Day rally, organizers said.

For the first time, Zuma was to share the podium with President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Sdumo Dlamini and South African Communist Party (SACP) Secretary General, Blade Nzimande, after both organizations called on Zuma to resign.

The COSATU, SACP and ANC are partners in a tripartite alliance, which has lately been experiencing ructions over Zuma's continued leadership.

Some unions affiliated to COSATU objected to plans for the president to address the federation's main May Day rally after the federation said Zuma would be speaking at the commemoration.

At least three COSATU-affiliated unions have warned that allowing Zuma to address COSATU members at the May Day rally would send "a confusing message" because the federation has taken a resolution that Zuma should step down as president.

The National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) in the Free State said it was expecting Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to address workers at the May Day rally instead.

The union's provincial chairperson Napo Moeketsi said on Sunday it would be unwise to allow Zuma to address the workers.

There have been growing calls for Zuma to resign after he reshuffled the cabinet on March 31. This led to the downgrade of South Africa's sovereign credit rating to junk status by international rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch in April.

On Sunday, Nzimande said the SACP's decision to call for Zuma to step down was a decision that was not taken lightly.

Nzimande explained that the decision was seen as the best solution to try to address the situation that the governing ANC finds itself in.

"We are going through a difficult period. Factions are very strong and undermine the ANC," ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe tweeted in response to the disruption of the May Day rally.

When the tripartite alliance is divided and fighting among itself, it destroys the gains it has made, Mantashe warned. Endit