Durban — EFF leader Julius Malema was in his element on the popular Podcast and Chill with MacG this week as he pulled no punches on his thoughts on the country, his political future and other topical political issues of the day.
In the tell-all interview, the leader of the Red Berets spoke all things South African, from President Cyril Ramaphosa and how the government’s Black Economic Empowerment programme had been used as a buffer of protection by white people scared of the Jacob Zuma regime.
Whereas most guests of the popular podcast, the biggest in South Africa boasting around 682 000 subscribers, often visit its studios in true Malema fashion the podcast’s host and founder Macgyver “MacG” Mukwevho and his co-host Sol Phenduka instead headed to the EFF’s Braamfontein based Winnie Madikizela Mandela House headquarters for what was the podcast’s 371st episode.
Although appearing calm and serene, unlike in his regular media briefings where he is often animated and stern, Malema’s ability to shoot from the hip was evident throughout the one-hour and 45 minute long interview.
Malema spoke of how white people had been afraid under former President Jacob Zuma’s regime and that they needed black protection in the form of Black Economic Empowerment.
“One of my biggest gripes about Cyril (Ramaphosa) is that if there were BEE partners in all the deals that were happening in Eskom for instance, all those BEE people have been removed everywhere. Why? We don’t need any protection, we’ve got our man (Ramaphosa) yet they don’t vote for him, they don’t trust him because white people don’t trust black people.
“He stays there in Sandhurst, that ward belongs to the DA. If whites feel so strongly about him and support him why are they not voting ANC in Sandhurst where Cyril stays because they love him?
“But this Cyril is nothing,” Malema said, going on to say that white people had not even voted for the late Nelson Mandela, who was the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994.
“There were two elections which were held in 1994, go where Mandela stayed and check if those people voted ANC in 1994, the answer is no. And then there were the 1997 Transitional Local Council Elections. In Houghton Mandela went door to door recruiting people, he got more than 200 members to join the ANC.
“When the results came he got less than 50 because that’s how much pretentious white people are. They did it to Madiba, they never voted for him. But every time they want to hypnotise you they say ‘Madiba said’ as if they loved him. If they loved him why didn’t they vote for him?” Malema asked.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE