By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says Gauteng will be an important battleground for the party, where it currently co-governs two metros — Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg — alongside the African National Congress (ANC).
Malema was addressing EFF members at the party’s Gauteng provincial ground forces forum on Sunday.
But recent reports suggest that cracks are emerging in the EFF-ANC partnership.
The face-off between the ANC and the EFF comes as the latter party appears to be gaining considerable ground ahead of the election.
As both parties prepare for the battle at the polls, the ANC’s highest decision body, the national executive committee (NEC), last month discussed re-evaluating the coalition with the EFF, citing fear of losing votes in 2024.
It said the party’s internal research showed that in by-elections, the EFF was still growing “mainly in the traditional base of the ANC; its growth is levelling up below 20%”.
The ANC accused the EFF of abusing its coalition partnerships with the ANC to undermine the governing party’s support.
However Malema suggested an ANC loss at the polls next year is a foregone conclusion. “Those who think and believe the ANC will survive the 2024 national and provincial elections need very close medical and psychiatric observation,” the EFF leader said.
“We are in no doubt that from 2024 onwards, the EFF will constitute the government of South Africa and will play a central role in the governance of the province of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West, Mpumalanga and all over South Africa.”
♦️Must Watch♦️
CIC @Julius_S_Malema leading fighters in chant at the Standard Bank Arena in Doornfontein
– These chants were done in the 1980’s in anticipation of freedom in 1994, so if we want 2024 to be our 1994 we ought to be in the mood of the 1980’s! pic.twitter.com/q6ejeGA9P1
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 5, 2023
Malema also said he did not support Springboks because it had colours and an emblem that represented and reflected the country’s pain of the Apartheid era.
“I don’t support Springboks. I don’t support the emblem and the apartheid colours that the National Team wears. We want the colours that represent democracy,” he said.
Malema said he did not have a problem with rugby but “we don’t love Amabokoboko”. He added that rugby was not a white man’s sport but rather a sport that has been around for decades.
“Our people in the Eastern Cape and everywhere else have played rugby long before these people played it,” he said.
Malema called for the national team to get a new name, colours, and new emblem that will represent the country’s democracy as well as the nation’s interests not “white supremacy”.
Watch Live in the video below:
Video Courtesy of EFFSA.