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EFF president Julius Malema will once again drop his name in the hat for re-election when the party holds its national conference later this year.
Malema revealed that he is going to seek another term as the party president. He has been party president since its formation 11 years ago.
He told the media during the post EFF manifesto launch press briefing at the party headquarters, at the Winnie Madikizela Mandela House in Johannesburg, that he is going to stand for the party leadership again.
“I am going to accept the nomination. What else can I do? Under this leadership, we have managed to bring the party where we are now,” said Malema.
The party is expected to hold its national conference later this year, where new leadership will also be elected.
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He said contrary to critics that they did not fill the stadium, the manifesto launch was a great success because they managed to fill Moses Mabhida Stadium with only KwaZulu-Natal members.
Malema said he was happy that the stadium was filled with mainly young people. “I struggled to find old people at the stadium,” he said.
SANDF DEPLOYMENT
He also criticised the government for the deployment of soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where two soldiers were killed in an ambush at the military base. "The government must withdraw the soldiers with immediate effect."
He said:
Two soldiers have been killed and three injured after a mortar landed in a SA National Defence Force camp in the DRC.
M23 rebels accused the Congolese army and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC of attacking civilian points.
Malema said South Africa is not ready to deploy soldiers for peacekeeping missions because the current soldiers are not well trained, thereby rendering them unfit and unprepared.
“We just don't have the army. Our army can’t look after cabbages. I can’t have them in my farm to look after cabbages because even a simple firearm looks heavy on them,” he said.
Malema accused the ANC led government of collapsing the army.
He said:
He added that there are too many illegal firearms entering the country without detection because the presence of the SA army in the borders is non-existence.
“How come the AK47 just entered South Africa with ease,” he said.
Malema said soldiers who are being deployed in other countries in the continent were being sent to their deaths.
“They're sent there to be killed because they are not properly trained. They must come back home,” he said.
COVID FUNDS
Malema criticised the usage of billions of rand during Covid-19.
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He accused the government of spending billions during Covid-19 and failed to account for it.
“Can you imagine you spent billions of rand to date, there is nothing physical you can point to that was built by that money. Even in the state of the nation addresses, they were pretending to be claiming all this development. They never said that they built hospitals during covid or bought ambulances,” he said.
Malema said the current government has been misusing money. “We have a lot of money in South Africa. Just tell me why do we need deputy ministers in the Cabinet? Why do we need such a big Cabinet? Why should the president spend R600 000 in food in his jet? Is he eating golden eggs?”
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He believes state owned enterprises have got the capacity and potential to generate a lot of income for the country.
“The problem is that we have indecisive leaders,” he said.
TRIBALISM
Malema accused some ANC leaders of encouraging tribalism, including the KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, for condemning the attack on musician Ngizwe Mchunu, but failed to condemn him for encouraging tribal politics.
Ngizwe had vowed to prevent the EFF from hosting a rally in the province. “KwaZulu-Natal is not a tribal province, but certain individuals are practicing tribal politics,” he said.
He said:
He reiterated the EFF’s call that they are ready to govern. He also called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce the election date.
