The African National Congress (ANC) was dying a natural death with or without former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, Julius Malema said on Thursday.
“The ANC is dying a natural death,” the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader said in a briefing ahead of the first sitting of Parliament.
He said that with or without Zuma, the projections were reflected in the May 29 elections. He added that research indicated that with the formation of the MK Party, the ANC would receive less than 50% of the votes.
“This is the end of it.”
Speaking on KwaZulu-Natal and the MK Party, he said the people have spoken and the party should be given the opportunity to lead.
“The EFF is of a firm conviction that MK Party should be given the opportunity to lead the government of KwaZulu-Natal, and we as the EFF will support all processes to constitute the legislature that is led and guided by MKP as the political party that received the highest number of votes in the province,” he said.
“The EFF continues to be a radical, militant and revolutionary economic emancipation movement and will not compromise principle on the altar of political and opportunistic convenience. We remain open to a discussion, now and in the future that will result in a government that does not include the DA and FF Plus.”
Malema said that when the ANC met with the Democratic Alliance (DA) to discuss a Government of National Unity (GNU), they discussed positions and not principals.
“The DA has got no principal agreements with the ANC, they have agreed on positions,” Malema said.
The EFF would remain an opposition party, opposed to the current government, he said.
Speaking to people who opted not to vote for the EFF, Malema said that they need to live with the consequences.
“The people of South Africa must swallow what they have decided to chew, and they decided to chew 40% of the ANC,” he said.
“Why do they go and make decisions and hope someone is going to rescue them from the other side? It is their own decision,” Malema said.
“They chose load shedding, they chose Ramaphosa, they chose the highest level of unemployment, they chose racism, that’s what they chose.”
Speaking on the government of national unity, he said the EFF has been engaging different role players have met with the leadership of the ANC, MKP, United Democratic Movement (UDM), African Transformation Movement (ATM), Al Jama-ah, and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).
“Despite our commitment to unite all opposition parties to completely remove the ANC from power since it was rejected by 59% of voters in South Africa, we did not and will never meet with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and all right-wing Oppenheimer funded political parties,” Malema said.
“These right-wing and neo-liberal parties represent a reactionary, counter revolutionary, and neo-colonial agenda which seeks to protect the existing property relations in South Africa where the white minority continue to be the economic majority.”
He said that they do not have any concrete agreement with the ANC, and were waiting for the party to get back to them after two official meetings.
“We are, however, aware that the ANC is finalising an agreement to work with the DA, the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and other reactionary political parties. As we said before, the EFF will not participate in a government that includes right-wing and reactionary political parties,” Malema reiterated.
“We have communicated this decision and approach to the leadership of the ANC and all other political parties that we are engagement with.”
He said the EFF will, however, participate in Parliament and Provincial Legislatures and will contest for the positions of speakers, deputy speakers, and chairpersons of committees.
Malema said that if the ANC failed to form a coalition, the EFF would be prepared to sit back and said his party would fully participate in Parliament.
The EFF has taken the decision not to play a role in the disruption of the National Assembly, but instead would be robust and engaging.
“We are here as a 10-year-old organisation with mature Parliamentary politics, well-experienced to make sure that the views of those who voted for us are well represented.”
IOL