EFF leader Julius Malema. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has denied any suggestion that his party is in a coalition with the African National Congress (ANC).
The possibility of an ANC-EFF coalition has generated a great deal of debate ahead of the 2024 general elections, however, the question was whether the political parties would be able to find each other in policy terms.
The EFF and ANC have recently worked together to wrestle power from Democratic Alliance (DA)-led coalition in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, but lost the battle in Tshwane.
The parties chose not to nominate their own members for the positions of mayor and speaker, instead giving them to other minority parties.
Speaking during a press conference, Malema insisted that the EFF was independent from any political party.
“We have never had a relationship with the ANC. We don’t owe our allegiance to anyone, we are independent. We are not in a coalition with the ANC.
“The South African media has been trying to coerce this narrative that we are in a coalition with the ANC [but] we are not. And if you want to challenge me produce proof now, I will resign with immediate effect,” he said on Monday.
Malema cited an example in the Mangaung metropolitan municipality, where the EFF voted against an ANC candidate.
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“In Emfuleni, we are going to vote against an ANC mayor because that city is rotten. If you want to see the typical ANC-led government which is obsessed with self and has lost interest of the people, go to Emfuleni. We are not in discussion with the ANC about anything,” he said.
“If there is any corruption that is going to happen in Ekurhuleni, or any corruption that is going to happen in Johannesburg, or Mogale City or Westrand, we will expose a fellow MMC. We are not in an MMC arrangement of corruption. That is why we can speak openly in Ekurhuleni as MMCs of the wrong things that are happening there.”
The EFF leader also commented of the ANC’s resolution that a party which received the largest votes should lead a coalition.
“It’s an arrogant position that will leave you out in the cold,” he said. “You have not the election. A clear indication that the people want you is a decisive majority of 50%+1.”
Malema further criticised the ANC over the party’s reaction to the waste removal trucks saga in the City of Ekurhuleni.
“The ANC say ‘there are no trucks missing’ because when you utter the word corruption is the ANC is the first to want to jump because as Africans we have got more than one name. So the ANC has got two names – it is ANC, the other one is corruption,” the EFF leader said.
He said the notion that the DA run municipalities well where the party governed was not true.
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“The trucks got missing under the DA. Who responds? The corrupt one. Instead of joining the EFF to look for the trucks, because we know the people who are using those trucks are Black Africans in the townships and without those trucks there won’t be service delivery to our people, they defend corruption.”
Last week, EFF Gauteng leader Nkululeko Dunga revealed that 71 trucks were stolen as only 32 out of 103 compactors could be accounted for.
ANC caucus whip and acting regional chair Jongizizwe Dlabathi, however, dismissed the “false narrative”, saying the claims were “extremely irresponsible and misleading”.
The allegation has also been reportedly disputed by the municipality.
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