EFF leader Julius Malema delivered a rallying speech yesterday in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, focused on the achievements and challenges faced by the party over its 11-year history.
Malema highlighted the practical victories of the EFF, emphasising the party’s commitment to social justice despite not being in government.
“The EFF has been a champion of the poor even if we are not in government, and for the past 11 years, we have proven that even without government, we can make an impact in the lives of our people,” he said.
His speech underscored the EFF’s role in pushing the land expropriation agenda, highlighting their motion to amend Section 25 of the Constitution. He dubbed the move a direct challenge to historical oppressors and a reaffirmation of their foundational struggle for land redistribution.
The red beret brigade leader also boasted that the party successfully campaigned for
workers’ rights, especially in higher education institutions and
municipalities.
“It is because of this EFF that workers are insourced into institutions of higher learning and in municipalities such as Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan, a struggle that all these unions have failed to champion because they collaborate with employers. This means workers have received increased wages, health benefits, and pension funds because of the EFF.”
On the gender-based violence front, said Malema, the EFF showcased efforts in spotlighting and tackling the issue, including the establishment of a gender-based violence desk and mass marches demanding better handling of GBV cases by the courts and police.
“It was the women of the EFF who marched in their thousands in Johannesburg, demanding that there be a review of how the courts and police stations handle cases related to gender-based violence in South Africa. It was marches such as these that led to laws relating to GBV becoming harsher on perpetrators.”
Malema continued: “Comrades, it is this EFF that has made racists afraid again and instilled confidence in our
people to confront injustice and racism wherever it rears its
ugly head.
“It is us fighters, who have attended every court case of every racist, that have either put our people in coffins, shot our children on farms or harmed our children in toilets.”
He said the EFF’s influence in higher education was another focal point. “It is the students of the EFF who every year lead the Sizofunda Ngenkani Campaign and ensure that thousands of students are allowed to register, whether they have money or not.”
On the impact of the EFF in parliament, he said the party’s presence revitalised it as a forum for accountability and robust debate. He positioned the EFF as a watchdog against corruption and financial crimes, with a specific mention of
profit shifting and tax avoidance by major corporations.
Malema also reflected on the 2024 elections, acknowledging the decline in votes in key provinces and the rise of competing movements like uMkhonto weSizwe. He called for introspection among structures in order to arrest the decline, including a shift in focus towards strengthening branches and voter districts to ensure a more community-centric approach.
He criticised the internal dynamics of the EFF, pointing out ideological weaknesses and the prevalence of superficial membership practices. The solution was a reorientation towards developing a more ideologically robust and committed EFF activist through enhanced political education, he said.
He proposed that the party adopts a constituency-based approach, advocating for the establishment of EFF offices in every town. “Our people must experience an EFF leader as a warm, respectful and humble person who will be able to fight firmly for their interests. The holy scripture says, ‘be humble as a dove, yet wise as serpents’.”
Malema said the EFF should become a formidable movement in the face of alliances between the ANC and DA, which he portrayed as coalitions of oppression. “We need to organise our people towards revolution, now more than ever before. The current moment requires honest organisational reflection, but most of all, this moment requires us to close ranks and protect our organisation as we head into the third phase of our struggle for economic freedom.”
