‘Radical’ ANC now threatens EFF politically – analysts

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is in danger of being overtaken by the ruling ANC as the leader of radical economic transformation.

This caution from political analyst Ralph Mathekga came as the ANC began to shift gear to a more radical approach to land reform, announced on Tuesday night by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

His announcement came after the party’s NEC lekgotla held at Irene, Pretoria.

At the same meeting, the ANC also unveiled plans to make it illegal to demand that a first-time job seeker have experience to be employed.

Both moves are seen as hitting at the centre of the EFF policy on land and youth.

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said the ANC had committed itself to a speedy radical economic transformation.

Magashule said the lekgotla mandated Ramaphosa to lead in giving a clear message on the party’s position regarding the expropriation of land without compensation and radical economic transformation.

“The inputs from the public hearings resonated with what the ANC policy is,” Magashule said.

He was referring to the recent nationwide public hearings conducted by the parliamentary constitutional review committee on the possible amendment of section 25 of the constitution to provide for land expropriation without compensation.

Mathekga said the EFF would have to do better because it will be politically threatened by the new ANC approach.

“The EFF will have to ramp up its radicalism. But for now, the EFF will simply declare victory for having pushed the ANC on the land issue and the EFF will certainly be rewarded by voters for the role they played in pushing the ANC,” Mathekga said.

Another analyst, Somadoda Fikeni, said although the ANC would like to reclaim the radical space occupied by the EFF, the ruling party wouldn’t necessarily succeed in outdoing the young party because it was the one that set the tone on radicalism.

“What is being promised is often different to what is implemented and the latter tends to be more pragmatic. Don’t forget, we are entering an election season and promises abound,” Fikeni said.

Ramaphosa and his people were also trying to show that radical policies were not only the preserve of the camp of Ramaphosa’s opponent at last year’s ANC elective conference, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Fikeni said.

The ANC’s Lamola said the lekgotla was unanimous that ways must be found to get young people to enter the job market.

“The ANC must stimulate the economy to enable young people to enter the job market and in this regard the lekgotla was unanimous about scrapping the entry level experience – even in government. We also call on the private sector to do the same,” Lamola said.

The move is seen by some as a strategy to swing the youth votes away from the EFF, which had attracted a massive membership from young people since its formation in 2013.

The ANC had been criticised for failing to address the youth unemployment – especially among young graduates.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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