The month of June is undoubtedly starting off with a bang, as countless South African citizens have flocked to social media to call for the immediate removal of Cyril Ramaphosa from Presidential office. The demand comes amid widespread dissatisfaction among South African citizens over a plethora of economic, social and political issues compounding within the country.
It is no secret that for the duration of 2022, South Africa has been experiencing some arduous challenges in various facets of its economic, social and political spheres. Some contentious issues such as continuous and insufferable loadshedding or the skyrocketing prices of fuel, are among those challenges which South Africans are struggling to overcome.
As such, it appears that South Africans are becoming increasingly frustrated and that they are using social media to express their concerns. One individual in particular, President Cyril Ramaphosa, appears to have become the target of that frustration.
The hashtag #RamaphosaMustGo started earlier today among only a few Twitter users, however, within only a limited amount of time, it managed to become a trending topic in South Africa.
Under the hashtag, countless Twitter users are expressing their discontent with President Ramaphosa’s leadership, insisting that the country has only become progressively worse since the commencement of his Presidency in South Africa. As such, calls for his resignation have become widespread on social media.
One social media user tweeted, “This is a notice to the entire government of South Africa, you have failed the majority of South Africans, especially you president Ramaphosa, please resign from your post before 16 June”. In a similar vein, another tweeted, “Endless loadshedding, fuel prices at a record high, high GBV, rampant corruption…Ramaphosa Must Go”
Even former spokesperson for the African National Congress, Carl Niehaus tweeted, “Cyril Ramaphosa is by far the most corrupt President since the dawn of democracy.”
However, there are those who have also come to the defence of the President, such as one user who tweeted, “Calls for Ramaphosa to go are misguided, as part of his failures are attributed to the mess created by his predecessor”.
Currently, tensions in South Africa are high, with an impending National Shutdown set for the 10th of June 2022. Through the halt of all economic activities in the country, many citizens are intending to protest the drastic increase in fuel prices, while others intend to use it as an opportunity to protest against Cyril Ramaphosa’s position as the president of South Africa.
