EFF rules out coalitions with ANC‚ and warns DA to not underestimate its ‘catalytic capacity’

10 August 2016 - 13:50 By Jan-Jan Joubert

The African National Congress (ANC) is on the ropes because of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). That’s according to EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. “Undoubtedly‚ this election has been a massive success for the EFF‚” said Ndlozi‚ speaking for the party while it considers its options and keeps its leader‚ Julius Malema‚ away from media interviews.“This is a historic result. The voters are rejecting the ANC. It is the EFF which took the votes away from the ANC. When you add up the percentages of the ANC and the EFF‚ it equals the votes the ANC previously had. The EFF is the difference‚” Ndozi claimed. “We have grown. We now have a national footprint‚ which means we can mobilise around the country‚ to spread the gospel of economic freedom in our lifetime.”Regarding not winning targeted municipalities like Rustenburg and Polokwane‚ Ndlozi said party supporters had made every effort‚ took part with a “winning attitude” and had criss-crossed the country‚ so the EFF was very satisfied with the result.He held that the result would not influence the EFF's actions in Parliament‚ and would not mute its criticism of the ANC or fellow opposition parties. “Each party must push its own policies and make sure its supporters’ lives are improved. We must agree on some aspects‚ and robustly disagree on others‚” Ndlozi said.“But we must reflect on why history has conspired to bring about this result. It does not matter that IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has said that he agrees when National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete throws us out of Parliament. We must now talk to each other and put our people first‚ with the focus on improving black lives and the plight of rural women.”Ndlozi echoed the sentiments of Malema‚ who said that a council where the ANC holds no majority meant that the voters have sent a message that they wanted the ANC out and for all opposition parties to work together.“The election result is a historic lesson in humility‚ which cannot be ignored and should never be forgotten‚” said Ndlozi.He said there were two reasons why the EFF would prefer not to enter into coalitions with the ANC.“The first reason is that the ANC are the very people the voters rejected. We cannot put them back into power now. “The second reason is that the ANC must be taught this historic lesson in humility. It is us who must instruct them - they must take instruction from us.“They must learn to be humble and to never again insult the intelligence of our people by behaving in government the way they have been behaving.”A coalition will require the EFF‚ which sees itself as the vanguard of the struggle for economic freedom‚ to work with the Democratic Alliance (DA)‚ which the EFF has at times described as the party of white-controlled capital and neo-conservatism.“We realise that most political parties are reactionary to the EFF‚ but this historical moment requires that we are not blind to the decision the South African electorate wants us to take. The conversation the voters want us to have is not on ideology‚ but on setting tangible service delivery targets.” Regarding the DA's insistence on a regular review of the EFF's commitment and adherence to an opposition agreement‚ Ndlozi said the DA's view of the EFF is myopic.“The DA is sensing the spirit of the times wrongly. The DA underestimates the catalytic capacity of the EFF. We will have to discover whether they can rise above their racially supremacist egos‚ and whether they can allow themselves to be educated by us.”One of the main differences between the DA and EFF is on land policy‚ with the EFF favouring expropriation without compensation‚ and the DA stressing constitutionally protected property rights.“We are not unsophisticated. We know that municipalities‚ under current law‚ cannot expropriate land. But it can decide how municipal land‚ especially municipal land that lies fallow‚ is used and developed.“There was no intelligent urban planning in South Africa. We are the site of colonial dispossession and apartheid structural disorganisation. “Democracy in 1994 did not touch the unequal and discriminatory ownership of land (that) no person of social conscience - no matter what their ideology - could possibly want to endure.“The history of this country throws up an opportunity for South Africa to reinvent itself and develop anew every 20 years or so. Think about it‚ the events of 1948‚ the strikes and ensuing trade union rights in 1973‚ democratisation in 1994 and now this opportunity‚ the voters have given us to govern the country better‚" said Ndlozi.He held that‚ in coalition negotiations with fellow opposition parties‚ the EFF would not fall into the trap of trying to just secure positions for its members."These agreements must not be about giving people jobs. It must only be about implementing the people's manifesto‚" said Ndlozi.TMG Digital/Parliament..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.