South African Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party leader Julius Malema talks during an interview with AFP on September 11, 2018 at the party's headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. / AFP PHOTO / GIANLUIGI GUERCIA
EFF leader Julius Malema was interviewed on eNCA on Thursday, where he was asked about the Manifesto Consultation Assemblies the party is in the process of holding.
The assemblies see the EFF “consult with different constituencies in society” as the party sets about writing a new manifesto. On Thursday, they consulted with senior citizens in Soweto and earlier in the week they consulted with people with disabilities. Next up on Friday, they are set to consult with players in the financial sector in Sandton.
Speaking to Vuyo Mvoko on eNCA, Malema said the party needed a “manifesto people will own”.
Highlighting the need to hear the voices of the disenfranchised when writing a new manifesto, the EFF commander-in-chief said: “The disabled people are not being listened to.”
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“We were with grannies in Soweto. Earlier on you interviewed the Soweto electricity crisis committee, and we heard of the same issues where grannies cry and say, ‘We are neglected by a government we have voted for and encouraged our children to vote for. Today they do not know us, they are swimming in a pool of luxury and they have forgotten the poor of the poorest.’
“All we need to do is talk to the dejected masses of our people so that when a manifesto comes they can own it, they can see themselves in the manifesto of the EFF.”
He then repeated his assertion, said before on numerous occasions, that the EFF is “a government in waiting”, adding that this comes with a responsibility to rule in a way that is “based on the will of the people”.
“[We] must work with the people and deliver that which will better the lives of [the] ordinary dejected masses of our people on the ground.”
The EFF is not only consulting with “dejected” South Africans. This evening they will consult with “role players in the financial sector”.
“There’s a huge constituency in the financial sector, for instance. The majority of us do not speak to it, and yet [the] financial sector plays a significant role in our economy, so we ought to listen to them and begin to pay some attention,” Malema said.
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