RATE IT | Unemployment, land & governance: five talking points from Malema's Freedom Day speech

EFF leader Julius Malema has again torn into the ruling party for failing to deliver on its promises.

He was addressing supporters in Tshwane on Wednesday in commemoration of Freedom Day. Unemployment, the judiciary and land were among the issues he addressed.

Malema said President Cyril Ramaphosa had failed to uplift and empower women when he appointed former deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo as chief justice.

He said history will judge the president harshly for disregarding the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). 

Here are five talking points from his address: 

GRADUATES GRANT

Malema said many South Africans live in poverty because of high unemployment.

He said the government should compensate unemployed graduates with a monthly grant until they get employed.

“We must say to government, if you can't create jobs, print the money and issue graduate grants where everybody who has gone to school and doesn't have a job. The government must look after that person because if this government is not going to reward you with a job or some grant, young people after you will not go to school.”

RDP HOUSES

Malema said RDP houses must be allocated to citizens who cannot afford to build for themselves. 

“Our people don't want RDP houses. They want land. They will build on their own and for those who can't build on their own, we must give them RDP houses. Not everybody wants an RDP house.”

The firebrand leader said the extent of the KZN floods could have been prevented had residents been allocated sites suitable to build on. 

POLITICIANS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE

Malema said citizens must be able to access their leaders. 

“We need you to be an activist. The people who led the struggle were not elite, they were on the ground with our people.”

DAMAGE CAUSED BY KZN FLOODS COULD HAVE BEEN MINIMISED 

Malema said the government needs to relocate residents who lost their homes in the devastating floods that swept through KZN this month.

“KwaZulu-Natal residents whose homes were washed away told me they need land. Women said they identified three pieces of land and they were shot at and told the land was privately owned. They identified the land before the floods because they knew the land was not safe. Today, they are dead.”

CHIEF JUSTICE RECOMMENDATIONS

Malema criticised the appointment of Zondo as chief justice. He said Ramaphosa should have appointed judge Mandisa Maya, who was recommended for the position by the JSC.

“We recommended a woman [as] chief justice; instead he chose against a woman. Why didn't the gender activists say anything? They kept quiet when Ramaphosa overlooked a woman for a man.”

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