Malema again accused of abusing party funds

EFF party leader Julius Malema has been accused by a second former MP of the organisation of abusing the party’s funds, and running it like his “bedroom, kitchen, toilet and yacht”, TimesLive reports.

EFF MP Zolile Xalisa penned an angry three-page resignation letter to Malema and his “surrogates”, claiming the party’s commander in chief has been abusing the money collected from the red berets’ MPs and MPLs, and its parliamentary allowances.

It was reported that Xalisa said Malema uses the money to throw large celebrations for senior party members to “appease your guilt” following organisational meetings.

The former EFF MP alleges in his letter that Malema made members pay for weekend party activities.

Xalisa wrote: “You used the EFF money in whatever way you deemed fit without consulting any of us, you threw parties whenever you feel after our meetings trying to appease your guilt of EFF money consumption by sharing the crumbs of it with EFF CCT members just to make them feel important around you, when you are just doing [it] to appease your guilt.

“The little we could have appreciated at least if you were taking care of our deployment costs instead of guillotining [us] with exorbitant … weekly deployment cost, such as car hire, accommodation cost, buying T- shirts for EFF fighters and providing food for fighters at our own cost. If that was not abuse and exploitation, you will never know what is abuse and exploitation in the EFF.”

Xalisa, who served on the EFF central command team (CCT), alleged that Malema was not willing to account to the red berets’ CCT on how the money collected from MPs and MPLs had been spent.

The former EFF MP accuses Malema of running the red berets like his personal fiefdom, not accounting to anyone within the organisation for expenditure related to his allowance and credit card.

The party’s spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi dismissed Xalisa’s allegations.

Ndlozi was quoted as saying: “He too did not make the cut in the EFF parliament list of candidates. EFF branches democratically rejected him. He now joins a very short line of position-mongers who, because they lost positions, lie about the EFF.”

It was reported that following his resignation, Xalisa joined Mzwanele Manyi’s African Transformation Movement (ATM).

Another former EFF MP, Thembinkosi Rawula, recently accused the red berets’ president and deputy Floyd Shivambu of being “bloody crooks“.

Rawula later resigned from the party.

Following his resignation, Malema announced he was thinking of suing Rawula.

READ MORE: Malema to sue former EFF MP who called him and Shivambu ‘bloody crooks’ for R1m

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