From left EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu, President Julius Malema, and Secretary General Marshall Dlamini during the Economic Freedom Fighters’ manifesto Launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday. | Khaya Ngwenya/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — An independent political analyst, Thobani Zikalala, has hailed the EFF for forging unity among black leftist parties.
Zikalala was reacting to the presence of the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) at the EFF’s manifesto launch rally at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Zikalala described the consolidation and realignment of parties, especially on the left, as a very good move and long overdue.
He said he was happy that black parties realised that to champion the poor African majority’s cause, they must unite and speak with one voice.
He had been wondering what was stopping these parties on the left from emulating the parties on the right which for a long time had been speaking with one voice, he said.
“For this I applaud them. Their presence and speeches meant that they were willing to form a coalition post-elections.
“This is good for parties who say they represent poor people. I am glad that they realised that the only possible way to unseat the ANC will be to form a coalition,” said Zikalala.
Furthermore, he said coalition was a buzzword in the build-up to the elections and it would be good for parties to start negotiating how to share power way before the elections.
During their messages of support, both ATM leader Vuyolwethu Zungula and PAC secretary-general Apa Pooe emphasised unity, especially among black parties, with Zungula saying they must work together, starting with the elections, to ensure that there were no irregularities.
He said if the ATM party agent at a voting station did not see an EFF party agent, his party agent would ensure that the EFF’s votes were not stolen.
Pooe said nothing was stopping his party from working with the EFF since they shared a common position on the land question.
Delivering his manifesto, EFF leader Julius Malema focused on jobs, land and ending load shedding, saying everything would fall into place once these key issues had been resolved.
He promised that his party would end load shedding within six months in power.
With plus or minus 50 000 supporters who painted the stadium and its precinct red, an invigorated Malema attacked former Ukhozi FM personality and self-proclaimed president of Amabhinca (traditionalists) Ngizwe Mchunu, saying those who thought there was no EFF in KwaZulu-Natal now had scientific proof that the province was the home of his party.
Malema applauded the EFF provincial leadership under chairperson Mongezi Thwala and secretary-general Marshall Dlamini for ensuring that the event was well attended, saying he was happy that the stadium was full considering that it was only the ground forces from the province.
There had been doubt about the success of the EFF’s event after Mchunu announced that he had organised a counter-event to prove that he commanded more support among the people of the province than Malema.
Mchunu’s event took place at the Gugu Dlamini Park which is about a kilometre away from the stadium, where the EFF’s manifesto launch was.
While Mchunu launched a scathing attack on Malema, there was little mention of Mchunu in Malema’s speech. Instead, he focused on what his party would do to better people’s lives.
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