By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has confirmed that they will recall all their public representatives who failed to organise buses for their constituencies to attend the party’s 10th anniversary celebrations at FNB stadium.
In July, the EFF announced that 439 of its members, including members of Parliament (MPs), provincial legislatures, and councillors were banned from attending the party’s anniversary rally held last month.
At the time, the party said it would be taking disciplinary action against them, as they were given enough time to raise the funds for transport.
The EFF held the press conference at the Premier Hotel O.R. Tambo in Kempton Park to outline its strategy for the 2024 national election. Part of this strategy is to address unemployment, load shedding and corruption in municipalities.
Without detailing its own plan to create jobs, the EFF criticised the ANC’s “claim that jobs are being created in South Africa”.
“The sitting government does not have any believable and practical plan to end the crisis of unemployment and joblessness. Millions of young people are now at the mercy of crime and illicit drugs because of desperation,” Malema said.
Malema also slammed the government for not stabilising South Africa’s electricity grid. It said the ANC had “normalised electricity blackouts”.
The red berets repeated its argument that the plan to split Eskom into three separate entities – generation, transmission, and distribution – was government giving in to capitalist demands.
“Instead of resolving the electricity crisis, the sitting government is going ahead with the mutilation of Eskom into three different companies with the sole purpose of privatising electricity generation in favour of the greedy domestic and global capitalist interests and demands.”
Malema also refuted suggestions the EFF is a one-man party. Some critics of the red berets say that the party will struggle to survive when Malema is no longer leading it.
“Look, the Economic Freedom Fighters is going to outlive all of us. It has gained a life of its own even now.
“This organisation is far much bigger than all of us as individuals.
“If there is one thing which we are rest assured and confidently know is that this EFF is going to outlive all of us.”
He also claimed that Ipsos research points to the EFF being more popular than he is.
Malema added that the party will take the SA Reserve Bank’s (SARB) report exonerating Ramaphosa in the Phala Phala matter on judicial review.
He said, they will not allow the Phala Phala report to be swept under the carpet and they want the SARB to be held accountable over its findings.
The EFF is the latest party to challenge the report after the UDM and DA also said they want answers and have applied for access to the report through the Protection of Access to Information Act.