Carl Niehaus Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA)
A group of EFF regional leaders have welcomed Carl Niehaus and members of his party, the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta), who joined the EFF on Thursday.
This was announced in a media briefing at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, which was also attended by singer Kelly Khumalo, a member of the Red Berets.
It has been reported that he will be taking up a leadership position within the EFF structures as his political party has ceased to operate on its own.
EFF regional leader in Johannesburg, Spetlele Raseruthe, said the move was meant to consolidate all the left-learning forces.
“We welcome comrade Niehaus so we can defeat the common enemy which everyone is talking about,” he said.
Niehaus registered Areta after he was expelled by the ANC in 2022, alongside Nkosentsha Shezi in April this year, as a platform to realise the ideals of radical economic transformation.
“It is not easy for a president to cross the floor and join another party. To us, you are a legend. Here we are talking about a former spokesperson who has joined us and humbled himself to the people of South Africa, unlike others who use BMWs to force people to join them,” said an EFF member during the briefing.
After accepting the EFF membership, Shezi said he was happy to be called a fighter.
“I want to declare that comrades are now welcome to freely call me a fighter. I am now no longer the general secretary of Areta but an EFF member and a fighter. This is the time for us to defeat the ANC. The time is now for that to happen. We have come to that moment for us to do that,” he said.
Niehaus said the reason to forge unity with the EFF was to save South Africa from the ANC regime.
“Areta has made the forging of a united progressive left front to save our country a pillar of its work since it was formed on the 23rd of February 2023.
“This announcement is a significant step in achieving that objective, and reshaping the South African political landscape in order to replace the neo-liberal right-wing destruction of our country with a united progressive government dedicated to the implementation of radical transformation,” he said in a statement.
The Star
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