Ramaphosa’s ‘anti-black’ ANC has overtaken ‘racist DA’ – Mpofu

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) national chairperson Dali Mpofu appears unimpressed with a front-page article in influential UK-based magazine The Economist endorsing President Cyril Ramaphosa as “South Africa’s best bet”.

The red berets top 5 member and prominent advocate slammed the publication as “the foremost tabloid of neo-liberalism” on Twitter, before going on to explain why he disagrees with the article’s faith in the president.

According to Mpofu, in 2014 the DA represented “the most right-wing, anti-black policies”, but in 2019 the “DA has been overtaken by the ANC [and] Ramaphosa”.

READ MORE: Malema says EFF willing to partner with ANC in coalitions, but not DA again

He then ended his tweet by voicing his opinion that “any black South African who votes for the choice of The Economist needs a psychiatrist”.

Mpofu’s strong views on the governing party follow EFF leader Julius Malema saying at the Rand Show in Nasrec earlier this week that while the ANC was “corrupt”, he would still consider coalitions with the party but not with the Democratic Alliance (DA).

This, he said, was because the ANC had not been “hostile” towards him, which he felt the DA had, particularly after its leader, Mmusi Maimane, called the leader of the red berets a “VBS looter”, following reports on his and his party’s alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding the now-liquidated bank.

The Economist’s argument is that the ANC should be backed because of Ramaphosa and that a strong showing for the governing party at the May 8 elections would strengthen the president’s fight against corruption, while a poor showing would benefit the party’s pro-Zuma faction.

South African analysts and journalists including Max du Preez, Peter Bruce, and Steven Friedman have embraced similar thinking, with Maimane voicing a counter-argument in the Daily Maverick.

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