Parties must put aside political differences to rescue SA, says Malema

The possibility of going to the streets in a protest calling for President Jacob Zuma to step down, cannot be ruled out at this stage, EFF leader Julius Malema said on Friday.

He was responding to the announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle by Zuma in the early hours of Friday.

Addressing the media on Friday, Malema said: “Zuma has been disrupting the country for quite some time, but the time has now come for us to put aside all our political differences to rescue our country. Zuma has now captured Treasury. He achieved what he wanted with Des van Rooyen.”

Malema said the newly announced Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, was “corrupt to the core” and that he has been a regular at the “Saxonworld shebeen”.

Malema said the EFF had started talking with opposition parties to map out the way forward.

“The plan, from the beginning, was to place … Treasury in the hands of an individual whose only qualification is his loyalty to the Gupta family,” he said.

Corruption Watch said: “Events have clearly established that renewal will not come from within the ranks of the ruling party, which has clearly been captured by a narrow clique.”

Leader of the Freedom Front Plus Pieter Groenewald said:  “The ministers who said they would resign if Pravin Gordhan is removed, will now have to prove that they were serious and should do the honourable thing by actually resigning.”

The National Employers’ Association of South Africa’s (Neasa’s) Gerhard Papenfus said: “It is clear that the removal of Minister Gordhan is irrational, self-serving and not based on performance or dedication.”

The ANC Veterans, meanwhile, said through Reverend Frank Chikane that the stalwarts would be meeting on Tuesday.

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