MKP Member Mzwanele Manyi Calls for Saturday and Sunday To Be Working Days

MKP Member Mzwanele Manyi Calls for Saturday and Sunday To Be Working Days

  • The Economic Freedom Fighters' former Member of Parliament and current MK Party member Mzwanele Manyi ruffled feathers when he proposed more working days in the weeks
  • He questioned why Saturday and Sunday were not working days and said unemployed people need more days to work
  • South Africans debated his statements, with some supporting him and others questioning the legality of his suggestion

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliament and Parliamentary committees, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

Mzwanele Manyi called for a 7 day work week
Mzwanele Manyi caused a debate with his 7-day work suggestion. Images: Veli Nhlapo/Sowetan/Gallo Images/Getty Images and Jeffrey Abrahams/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

JOHANNEBURG — MK Party Member of Parliament Mzwanele Manyi caused a debate when he suggested that Saturday and Sunday should be working days. He said unemployed people needed more days to work and hustle.

What did Manyi say?

The former Economic Freedom Fighters member posted on his @MzwaneleManyi X account on 6 April 2025. He tweeted four days after the National Assembly passed the budget vote, which the MK Party opposed.

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"Why aren't Saturday and Sunday normal working days? That 8-day monthly gap makes no sense, especially for the unemployed who need every opportunity to earn and hustle," he remarked.

Read his X tweet here:

Manyi joined the MK Party after he resigned as an Economic Freedom Fighters member alongside Floyd Shivambu. He was the editor-in-chief of the Gupta-owned African News Network. Before that, he was a high-ranking official of the Government Communications and Information System.

Mzwanele Manyi suggested that employees work on Saturdays and Sundays
Mzwanele Manyi wants people to work every day. Image: Jeffrey Abrahams/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

What did South Africans say about his suggestions?

Netizens commenting on his post strongly debated his suggestion.

Those who agreed

Lindo Mnisi said:

"We need to activate a 24/7 economy. With our unemployment rate, the whole 9-to-5 idea makes no sense. Fix crime so that malls and factories can operate 24 hours a day with people working shifts. I wanna walk into Pick n Pay at 3 am to buy groceries."

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Sithale said:

"As a member of parliament and lawmaker, you must introduce this bill next Sunday."

Josh Johnstone asked:

"Why aren't 17h00 to 24h00 and 00h00 to 8h00 not normal working hours? That 15-hour daily gap makes no sense, especially for the unemployed who need every opportunity to earn and hustle."

SibongileMdhluli said:

"As lawmakers, it is up to you to find ways to evolve the economy into a 24/7 one, to include more sectors to the ones already practising it. Yours is a relevant question and hopefully your aim was to get the appetite and temperature of SAns on the issue."

Those who disagreed

Lesedi asked:

"Trying to reverse the generational gains of our progressive labour policies hard won through protests and negotiations by civil society and unions?"

Tholakele said:

"The body needs to rest as well. There's nothing more important than one's health."

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Siyabonga asked:

"Are these the people who represent us in Parliament?"

President Cyril Ramaphosa signs Expropriation Act

In a related article, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law.

The act allows for the government to expropriate land with nil compensation, only in the instance where no agreement was reached between the government and the land owner.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tebogo Mokwena avatar

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena joined Briefly News in 2023 and is a Current Affairs writer. He has a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON. He joined Daily Sun, where he worked for 4 years covering politics, crime, entertainment, current affairs, policy, governance and art. He was also a sub-editor and journalist for Capricorn Post before joining Vutivi Business News in 2020, where he covered small business news policy and governance, analysis and profiles. Tebogo passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative Email: tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za