EFF can’t support Mashaba because of ‘poor people can’t be trusted to rule’ view

18 August 2016 - 10:49 By Tmg Digital

Democratic Alliance mayoral hopeful for Johannesburg Herman Mashaba’s comment that “poor people can’t be trusted to rule” has come back to haunt him.That’s according to Dali Mpofu‚ who told Radio 702 on Thursday that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) did not support Mashaba as he himself “could not be trusted to…take a sensible look at the poor”.Mpofu‚ the chairperson‚ said his party could not accept the DA candidate’s contention that “only rich people can rule” as it would be contrary to the EFF’s tenet of “economic emancipation”.The EFF was not prepared to sacrifice this principle for political expediency‚ he added‚ and it was for the same reason that it had snubbed forming coalitions with the DA in major metros. Mpofu reiterated EFF leader Julius Malema’s stance that the party would not take “short cuts” on its way to power‚ and did not want to get in through the “back door”.He said the party “may take 10‚ 20 years” to achieve its aims as it would take time to reverse the “hundreds of years of state intervention” which had caused the inequalities in the country.On Wednesday‚ the DA said it had declined a request by the EFF to change its mayoral candidate in Johannesburg in exchange for its vote in the metro.DA marches to PretoriaSouth Africa, brace yourself! Potholed roads, clean water, refuse removal and tendering systems will be at the centre of debates in municipalities in which no party won a majority. The EFF said it would vote with the DA in all metros but that this was conditional in Johannesburg.The condition was for the DA to rethink placing Mashaba at the helm of the metro.But the DA has declined –meaning it will not receive the EFF’s vote in Johannesburg. The EFF’s vote would have placed the DA in the majority in the metro.Why the DA is likely to win the coalition war in JoburgAlthough the ANC got more votes, it is less likely to find coalition partners because of Zuma. DA leader Mmusi Maimane said voters chose Mashaba as its candidate and the party could not undermine that.However‚ as Saturday is the deadline for coalition-making‚ there is still time for the ANC and the EFF to continue with negotiations.Mashaba is a millionaire who founded the company Black Like Me.He also served as chairperson of the Free Market Foundation and is a strong believer in free enterprise and the noninvolvement of the state in the economy — views that put him at odds with the leftist EFF‚ which believes in the setting of a national minimum wage‚ among other things. – TMG Digital..

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