Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce‚ Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema‚ pulled no punches as he slammed the African National Congress (ANC) following the revelation that the ruling party had allegedly received improper payments from Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Limited. According to charges filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday‚ Hitachi paid the ANC front company Chancellor House a $1m "success fee" and $5m in "dividends" in connection with contracts to build the Medupi and Kusile power stations.He also took the opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings regarding the EFF’s approach to promoting socialism by once again addressing the nationalisation of entities such as banks and mines to combat the current monopolisation of those sectors.“The problem with the current mining companies is that they want to maximise profit at all costs‚” said Malema.He said he believed nationalisation would provide the competition required to make the sectors more affordable and therefore accessible to the people.According to Malema‚ policy allowed foreigners buy land which they rarely occupied and list as part of their property portfolio. Such land was often situated near congested communities who could not even make due on the little land they occupied‚ and land owned by foreigners should therefore be given back to them.“Without the land we remain a conquered people. Thus the land must be expropriated‚ put under state custodianship‚” he said.According to Malema‚ this was possible because the same companies that operated under socialist conditions in Botswana were currently exploiting the South African people.“You don’t come and tell me that you’re going to chase the investors away with that approach. It’s not true. People are investing in Botswana. I am not talking about some far country that we don’t know. I’m talking about Botswana‚ just here. It’s happening in Botswana‚ you can do it here‚” said Malema.He blamed this and other shortcomings of the state on the executive’s inability to manage the country.Malema said it was because the state currently lacked capacity that they tendered and outsourced everything‚ funneling the funds through the private sector to facilitate kickbacks and that led to simple tasks taking months to complete.“Let us build the state’s capacity so that the state is able to take care of itself and is able to intervene at all times‚” said Malema. He also called for an education system that would challenge white supremacy and change how South Africans saw each other.“Bantu Education was designed to zombify our people. We need an education system that is going to teach our people not to sell their labour but to be their own bosses. We need an education system that is going to teach our people to see a white person as a partner and not a boss‚” he said.Addressing possible claims of racism‚ Malema said he was just telling the truth. Black South Africans were angry and the current unrest at Universities was the example he used to prove his point.“Look at our universities‚ they are turning violent. It's not Soweto‚ it is UCT. The young intelligencia is demanding the revolution‚” said Malema.Malema reiterated that black people’s honesty about their anger with the status quo should not be confused with hate for white people.“We (the EFF) come across very strong and radical but we are very peaceful. We seem uncompromising but we are peaceful. The beauty of South Africa is that we listen to each other‚ whether you are capitalist or socialist‚ we listen to each other. At the end of the day our grandfather Nelson Mandela taught us to listen to one another‚” he said.He also allayed investors’ fears by emphasising that robust debates do not threaten investments.“South African debates are so robust that you confuse them with violence… the only problem is that we are being robust with empty heads on the other side‚” said Malema referring to the ANC.“The ANC used to be a reservoir of think tanks but they are no longer capable of that‚ which is where the EFF comes in‚” said Malema.He said he considered his party the only party capable of holding the executive accountable for their faults‚ adding that the official opposition‚ the Democratic Alliance‚ lacked a proper strategy.Malema’s speech garnered a lot of support online. It even prompted US Ambassador to South Africa‚ Patrick Gaspard to tweet:“.@Julius_S_Malema sounding like Fela Kuti on the "zombification" of the populace”- ‏@patrickgaspard 2 hours ago..