Cape Town - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema was back on the Western Cape campaign trail on Saturday, launching the party’s manifesto in Khayelitsha and declaring that the race in the Cape would be only a two-horse one – between the EFF and the DA.
But Malema nevertheless took the opportunity to take a swipe at the ANC, saying the “poor calibre” of that party’s candidates in the province pointed to the fact that the ANC leadership wasn’t serious about reclaiming the province.
Malema arrived nearly two hours late at Khayelitsha’s
OR Tambo Hall, but that didn’t stop the roughly 1 000-strong crowd from roaring their approval and giving him a standing ovation. They chanted his name over and over.
“You don’t know what to expect when you travel, but it is wonderful to see so many people here supporting us. Wherever (Western Cape Premier) Helen Zille is, she must be shivering because of all of you.
“She must get ready to pack up the premier’s office and make way for an EFF official.”
Malema said he had no doubt that the EFF would be able to take the Cape from the ANC and DA.
“The party may only have been started in June, but our history of struggle goes back 100 years. The DA and ANC are the same, they are protecting white freedom. It is a DA policy, but the ANC has also taken the same policy. They belong together.”
What the EFF wanted, Malema said, was land.
“The people like the DA took our land by force, and what we are asking them is to give it back. We are paying for land that is rightfully ours. We are fighting to take the land back and restore prosperity to you.”
Malema arrived in Cape Town on Friday and also visited Hermanus and the Overberg in an effort to garner votes in the upcoming elections.
He said his party was offering an alternative to people in the Western Cape, to break the stranglehold the DA had on the province.
“The EFF is here. Finally there will be an alternative against the DA who only look after the affluent areas.”
Western Cape EFF spokesman Nizaam Paulsen said the EFF was virtually guaranteed victory in the poll.
“The EFF is the fastest growing party in the Western Cape, and we will change the province. There is so much inequality and such a large gap between the rich and poor, it’s probably the biggest in the country.
“Provincial government has neglected the province so much. As long as the affluent areas are taken care of, areas like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain are left to deteriorate. We are on the verge of a historic victory in the Western Cape.”
After the rally, Malema was scheduled to visit Mitchells Plain.
Weekend Argus