The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema has taken a swipe at the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) for being unresponsive to people and events in the country.
The loud-mouthed opposition leader, while speaking to residents of Jabulani in Soweto on Tuesday evening, accused the ruling party of losing touch and consciousness with the poor masses.
He also claimed that the ANC has nothing to offer as a political party, adding that the only thing the Zuma-led party does is to fill its pockets and that of its members with taxpayers’ money, forgetting the poor masses that elected them to power.
“They get into positions of power, they don’t deliver to you because they think when they eat, that food translates to you somehow.”
“They sleep in beautiful hotels and they say they sleep on behalf of the masses. When we say people are complaining they say people are happy. That is why they came with a theme ‘A good story to tell’. Conscience has left them,” Malema told the crowd.
Malema did not also spare the National Assembly, describing the Cape Town-based lower house as a group with “colonial views”. He went on to criticize Parliament leaders for recently introducing and sponsoring parliamentary dress code for Members of Parliament.
Recall that the EFF shocked South African parliamentarians when they stepped onto Parliament floor donning red overalls, gumboots, and hard hats (which their members often use as a weapon) after their election into Parliament. At the time, the opposition party’s dress code didn’t go down well with Parliament although the House later accepted the dress code after some time.
“Parliament is preserved for a particular class of people. They wear ties and suits. If you don’t dress like them you don’t qualify… they continue with an inherited system of colonialism. We must repay Soweto”, Malema apprised Jabulani residents.
The opposition leader went on to enlighten Sowetans about EFF’s dress code, revealing that the party chose red overall, gumboot and hard hat with the purpose of challenging colonial views.
With these, the Soweto-born politician called on Jabulani residents to stand up for their rights, which the ANC has trampled on since 22 years.
“They have given you a medal and that medal is prepaid water and electricity. What an insult to the heroic people of Soweto. You need to say it’s enough. From heroes of the struggle to entertainers of tourists, this Soweto is supposed to be world class. You fought against the most dangerous government and we must repay you,” he added.
On why the ANC couldn’t fill the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Malema claimed it was because the party is dead. The opposition leader made this known while addressing thousands of party members in Mamelodi during the Solomon Mahlangu Memorial Rally held last Saturday.
“The ANC is history, Zuma is history, and the ANC was buried with Nelson Mandela. That was the end of the ANC. This is the future. We told you and we were not lying. Zuma is hyperventilating. If he can’t fill a stadium, it means it is over for the ANC. If you ever doubted that, bye bye,” he said to loud cheers and chants.
Picking on President Jacob Zuma, the EFF leader called him “a naked and lonely emperor with no supporters”.
“He is walking in the stadium alone. Zuma thought he would get 100 000 people in Port Elizabeth, but they are not there. He will even go and check in the rubbish bin, thinking they are inside. Zupta, wherever he is, he is doing below average things. I was watching proceedings where Zuma is. The stadium couldn’t be filled. If you thought Zuma was going to survive, then you’re left with Zuma alone,” the leader of the red beret party hit at the embattled president.
See Also: Julius Malema Will Not Return To ANC – Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
EFF’s Commander-in-Chief Julius Malema has been a thorn in the ruling party’s flesh since his expulsion from the liberation movement. He was the president of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) until in 2012 when he was suspended for five years and subsequently expelled from the party.
History has it that he was the first leader to suffer such punishment since the ruling party’s youth league was co-founded by former president Nelson Mandela, of blessed memory, in 1944.
