Juju for president: Charismatic leader or a risk to SA’s future?

What’s the worst that could happen if Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) leader Julius Malema were to become president of South Africa?

This is a question many are asking because Malema is considered a prominent flip-flopper and a controversial figure.

He says one thing today and the next day espouses the opposite. He is not the leader South Africa needs to weather the storm we are experiencing.

A leader who changes his principles continuously will cause a revolution against himself. Known for his loud mouth, it is correct for many to be worried.

For if he were to rise and assume the office of president, he would cause havoc in the international political sphere.

This is not because he doesn’t have a backbone or a clear position, but he will lack tact and diplomacy in engaging his international counterparts.

He will offend many and this might have catastrophic consequences for South Africa.

As ANC Youth League president and now EFF leader, he still acts without thinking and pretends he carries no responsibility on his shoulders.

He would be a president who sets himself up for failure. Yes, the EFF’s policies are pro-people, socialist and inspiring.

But with a leader like Malema, these policies won’t see the light of the day as he will be removed from office because it will seem as if he lied to the people.

The reason is that the EFF’s policies are bold and seek to change the status quo. But the problem lies with Malema promising smooth sailing if he is elected state president.

Yet he forgets to mention that his party’s policies will require decades – and not just five years – to be implemented.

He pretends the economic tide will change once he is elected. However, that is not the case. Hence, there is a big chance that he would be faced with people who feel betrayed because what they have been promised is not happening.

EFF policies will cause unemployment and poverty in the short term. But if the processes and finances are managed well, success will prevail.

This is in the understanding that investors will be wary of investing in a country that is left-wing due to the EFF’s position on the nationalisation of land and strategic sectors of the economy.

To make matters worse, with many South Africans demanding that foreigners leave the country because they are burdening the state and are the cause of many of our problems, Malema’s government will disappoint because of its stance that our borders must be open for foreigners.

This will put a lot of pressure on the fiscus and he will become powerless because without money he won’t be able to sustain the country.

However, this will be our reality if he implements his policies and becomes our Thomas Sankara, the former president of Burkina Faso.

But unfortunately, Malema seems to be all talk and no action.

And with the might of the Stellenbosch mafia and the Western imperialist countries on his neck, it is likely that he will be corrupted by money and will abandon socialism – if he is not getting it as we speak.

What he is doing now is using populism in a manner which benefits him by using people’s cries to rise and later he forgets about them.

How else can one explain that he is a socialist leader who wears European luxury brands and drives German cars, but has no businesses?

It raises the question of who the real funders of the EFF are and what do they stand to gain if his party wins next year’s general election?

All I can say is that they are the same industry owners he claims to be fighting against.

And as for him lashing out at a magistrate in East London last week for not being punctual, it has nothing to do with him being principled about time.

He was annoyed that he was not elsewhere instead of in court. Many think that if he were president, he would fire underperforming comrades, but that is a pipe dream.

He fired over 200 officials who failed to fill buses to go to FNB Stadium during the EFF’s 10th anniversary in July just so he could flex his muscles on people who are not yet radicalised.

This just shows how unfair a leader he is.

How can you fire people for something that is not in their job description?

If this doesn’t smell like a dictator who is abusing his position, then I don’t know what does.