Malema says no stone must be left unturned until victory achieved in Northern Cape.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema delivered the keynote address at the Northern Cape Provincial Manifesto launch at the Galeshewe stadium in Kimberly.

Thousands of EFF supporters gathered at the Galeshewe Stadium in Kimberly on Saturday to witness the EFF Northern Cape Manifesto launch.

“Fighters, let’s go factory by factory, mine by mine, school by school. No stone must be left unturned until the victory of the EFF is achieved in Northern Cape,” said Malema.

“We need to defend our disabled people. We must work for disabled people because no disabled person must stay without a house,” Malema said.

Malema said: “All of the corrupt who are switching off our electricity, we are going to expose them and expel them from Eskom. We are going to fight corruption in Eskom because load shedding is corruption.”

“Comrades, we want to make sure we end load shedding because load shedding is man-made,” the EFF leader said.

“We are nothing if the people of Zimbabwe are still suffering from poverty. We are nothing if Cuba is still under oppression,” said Malema.

Malema also said South Africa is under siege from corrupt organs of the state.

He singled out the Public Protector’s Office, the Judiciary, and Parliament, saying they have collapsed because they are led by tainted individuals. 

“The second arm of the state called legislature is led by a person who is in trouble with the law. She has been taking bribes after bribes. today a parliament is led by a person who is in trouble with the law. Another arm of the state is called the judiciary which is led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

Malema also took a swipe at the Northern Cape government saying the provincial government has failed its people on issues of safe reliable water and sanitation, potholes, and a collapsed health care system.

EFF Northern Cape chairperson Shadrack Tlhaole says “We want the eff to be in charge of the northern cape. the eff must produce the premier of the northern cape under the leadership of the eff because this is a collective organisation. That alone is giving a sign that indeed the eff is ready we are ready because of the commitment we have done.”

The election is expected to be highly contested because the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has governed the country since Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically-elected leader in 1994, faces myriad challenges.

The EFF is popular among many disenchanted South Africans, especially youth, due to its radical policies that include the expropriation of white-owned land and the nationalization of mines and banks.

Malema, a controversial figure who largely divides opinion for his radical proposals to solve the country’s problems, continues to enjoy widening popularity in South Africa and increasingly across Africa.

A former ANC youth leader who was expelled from the party, Malema is now among the ruling party’s staunchest critics. He’s an outspoken lawmaker who has become a thorn in the side of the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The EFF garnered 10% of the national vote in the country’s 2019 elections to become the third largest opposition party.

Buoyed by the decline in support for the ANC, which has governed South Africa since 1994, the party expects to increase its support in the upcoming elections.

Recent polls by polling firm Ipsos released estimated the EFF could perform better in the upcoming polls and replace the Democratic Alliance as the second biggest party in the country.