WATCH: Ndlozi says SA’s experienced politicians should return – here’s who he wants back

Former EFF MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi believes South Africa should have held onto experienced politicians, such as former Foreign Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, who still have a lot to contribute.

Ndlozi was speaking to MacG on his Podcast & Chill YouTube show on Thursday in a wide-ranging interview about his former party, the EFF; Floyd Shivambu; Julius Malema; Donald Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa, among other discussions.

Ndlozi resigned from the EFF last week, saying he has shifted his focus away from politics “after months of introspection”.

‘Reviving old leaders’

Ndlozi said South Africa will continue to have a “coalition situation” in the country if it does not hold onto its experienced politicians.

“Look, you are going to have a coalition situation. You are definitely going to have people not getting a majority. I wonder if there is enough political gravitas, maturity and political soundness to revive or recycle people like Naledi Pandor.

“I think we let go too early of uMama Pandor. I think there is still a lot that she could give even in 2029,” Ndlozi said.

ALSO READ: Mbuyiseni Ndlozi resigns from Julius Malema’s EFF: Here’s what he is doing next [VIDEO]

One of the discussions was Ndlozi’s departure from the EFF and the internal tensions that led to it. He confirmed that his exit was tied to his opposition to the party’s alignment with former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK).

Watch: Ndlozi on reviving experienced politicians

Former EFF MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi believes South Africa should have held onto experienced politicians like former Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, who still have a lot to contribute to the country Video: @podcastwithmacg @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/PZLAoTgLJA

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) February 14, 2025

Ramaphosa

Ndlozi also spoke about how President Cyril Ramaphosa is handling the tense situation with the US government and Israel.

“I could have never guessed that there will be a situation in which President Ramaphosa sounds like Robert Mugabe. Wow. That means we may have to not stick to one-dimensional reading of him; maybe there is much more complexity to him.

“There’s no white monopoly capital that could confront Donald Trump and the Euro-American establishment like that,” Ndlozi said.

‘No puppet’

Ndlozi said he does not believe that Ramaphosa is a “white puppet”.

“The Palestinian question, the presidents before Ramaphosa would take the two-state solution, [that] the Israelis and the Palestinians must co-exist. President [Thabo] Mbeki took it a step further at the time when Hamas won the Gaza elections, the West wanted to reject them. He’s like, ‘but that’s a democratic outcome,’” Ndlozi said.

“But none of them had gone the step that Cyril did to say that Israel is engaged in genocide and take them to the Hague. Now, I mean, I’m sorry, you saw the relationship that Netanyahu, President of Israel, has with the US establishment. To do that, that was even before the GNU, and to continue after the GNU, with the DA there, to insist on the Bela Bill, to insist on nil compensation, it is not enough, but it has pissed off the private property owners of South Africa.

“Those steps he doesn’t have to do; he can hold us with some neutrality and make us believe, but the mere pronouncements politically carry a lot of symbolic hostility towards the West,” Ndlozi said.

Check out Mbuyiseni’s views on how our president @CyrilRamaphosa is handling things with the US government and Israel

Click link 🔗 for full episode https://t.co/URRR9oI5sk pic.twitter.com/KgoiDLJtGM

— Podcast and Chill Network (@podcastwithmacg) February 13, 2025

ALSO READ: EFF MPs Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Yazini Tetyana resign from Parliament

Relationship with Malema

During the interview, the former EFF MP spoke about his relationship with Malema after his suspension and vowed never to speak ill of the red berets leader.  

“I spoke to him on the 11^th of November when they were handing out the suspension letter.

“I have refused the invite to make those political disagreements personal because it wouldn’t be difficult to do politics in terms of the other person. Progressive revolutions are a high calling that stem from a place of love,” he said.

Ndlozi also discussed the complexities of political relationships and character tests, acknowledging that conflict and disagreements within political movements are inevitable.

The former EFF MP also dismissed allegations that he had conspired against the party leadership. He revealed that he was suspended weeks before the EFF’s National People’s Assembly based on what he described as an unfounded intelligence report.

NOW READ: ‘I’m not an informant’: Ndlozi confirms he was suspended by EFF, denies betrayal claims