'You want us to march to people's homes?' — Naledi Chirwa and Malema take aim at Redi Tlhabi

EFF MP Naledi Chirwa and leader Julius Malema have slammed Redi Tlhabi for asking if the EFF plans to protest outside the homes of politicians who hire foreign nationals.

Tlhabi was reacting to the EFF's oversight visits to restaurants in Midrand, Gauteng, where the party assessed the employment ratios of South Africans and foreign nationals.

Party leader Julius Malema and a handful of party members and supporters visited Kream, Ponto and Doppio Zero restaurants and said they found that restaurant owners were compliant with hiring policies. 

Tlhabi said she lived in the same neighbourhood as politicians who had hired foreign nationals as security guards and asked if the EFF planned to conduct oversight visits to their homes, or if they were only targeting “weaker people”.

Chirwa said the EFF was not going to march to people's private properties, saying Tlhabi “can do better”.

Malema also responded, saying the EFF will not be dictated to. 

In another tweet, Tlhabi said Malema was not an enforcer of the law.

“It is a slippery slope when unauthorised people appoint themselves enforcers of 'laws'. I hope restaurant owners know that they do not answer to Mr Malema or anyone else. The immigration status of workers is between worker, employer and the state. Your feelings are irrelevant,” she wrote. 

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said MPs were allowed to conduct oversight visits provided they do not threaten anyone and they abide by their code of conduct.

He would not be drawn into commenting directly on the EFF's visit, saying he had no intimate details about it. 

“It goes without saying that, in the course of conducting the parliamentary obligations, members must always conduct themselves lawfully and within the provisions of the members' code of conduct,” he said.

Malema told journalists the visits will not be a one-off event.

“We will be visiting different institutions from time to time. This is not a one-off thing. We will also visit different institutions, especially where we get tip-offs, in the security industry, hospitality industry and farms,” said Malema.

He reiterated the visits should be not be used to instigate xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals.

“The confrontation should not be with the employees. No foreigner should be a target of assault by any of our people. And no person should speak of [wanting] 70% or 90% SA [employees], that’s the kind of madness we don’t want to hear. 

“All we want is a fair representation on the shop’s floor and if that’s the case we are more than satisfied, because foreigners are at home when they are here,” said Malema.