WATCH: EFF vaccine march sparks fears of super-spreader event

A sea of red could be seen in the Tshwane CBD as the party made its way to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) offices in Arcadia.

The red berets want the regulator to urgently approve Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in a bid to ramp up the country’s slow vaccination drive. 

“We want more vaccines available and because the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] and his government have eaten our money, our people are dying in their numbers,” EFF leader Julius Malema told supporters on Friday.

He denied adding fuel to the fire.

“They are telling us that this event is a super spreader, but it’s not true because we are meeting here, outdoors for few minutes, from there we are going home.”

Instead, Malema turned the tables on government accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration of failing South Africans.

READ: 'Battle lines drawn' over AmaZulu crown: Buthelezi

“If these people had been confronted much earlier, we were not going to have a third wave. If we sit and do nothing about vaccines, the fourth wave is coming, the fifth wave is coming, the twentieth wave is coming because these people will keep on locking us down,” he added.

“Lockdown is not a solution. The solution is to vaccinate the majority of South Africans.”

The party plans to give the health regulator seven days to give Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V the green light.

Meanwhile, Sahpra has reiterated it would not be pressured into making decisions.