As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) gears up for its 3rd elective conference, Limpopo provincial chairman Lawrence Mapoulo has predicted that the trek to Nasrec in mid-December will be the party’s biggest “pilgrimage” yet.
The conference is slated for December 12 to 15 at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
Limpopo readies for conference
Mapoulo was addressing delegates to the party’s Provincial General Assembly (PGA) at the Westernburg Community Hall in Polokwane on Saturday, preparation for the elective conference.
Delegates of all the province’s five regions packed the hall to the rafters, setting the tone for what promises to be a game-changing conference since the party’s inception.
The red berets are going into this conference battered and bruised following the recent mass exodus of its top brass.
The EFF finds itself on tenterhooks, a critical juncture where the simmering tensions in the party could reach epic proportions.
Calls for divine intervention
But over the weekend, Mapoulo sought to allay fears of a potential political tempest, calling for divine intervention.
Internal ructions have led to factional scheming but Mapoulo said they will prepare for the upcoming conference like churchgoers heading for the biggest and most sacred pilgrimage.
“When you go to a pilgrimage, you make sure that you’re spiritually clean and that is what we are currently doing in the EFF. We are bathing, steaming and regurgitating. The EFF needs to cleanse itself ahead of this conference so that all goes well during and after the conference. We are performing these rituals as a show of commitment to the agenda of the EFF,” said Mapoulo.
He was saying so mindful of the trials and tribulations his party is going though.
Malema demands loyalty
Party leader, Julius Malema, who arrived three hours late, called for unity and loyalty among party members.
Malema somehow feels he has been stabbed in the back by people who once pledged loyalty to him, only to betray him.
“A delegate of the EFF is loyal, as our constitution demands of us. Loyalty means that at all times, members and leaders will not keep quiet when the organisation is unfairly criticised and attacked in private and in public. Loyalty to the organisation means that members will remain active members even when removed from positions of responsibility or deployment. Loyalty means members of the EFF will not join the opponent forces who unfairly criticise the organisation and its leadership,” Malema said.
Malema cautioned EFF members not to slander the movement and tarnish the image of others in both the mainstream and social media.
“Using the media to promote a particular list of candidates and to spread malicious rumours, falsehoods or allegations against those with whom you disagree, is unconstitutional. Leaking confidential information to the media; secret interaction with journalists with the intention to get them to write stories on internal organisational issues or communicating internal decisions shows disloyalty. Negative campaigning, which relates to attacks on the integrity of other comrades, both within the structures of the movement and in other forums is unacceptable,” he said.
