Durban - THE EFF has continued its drive for pan-African unity by calling for South Africa to spearhead a united African approach in the battle against the coronavirus.
Party deputy president Floyd Shivambu led the EFF's call for South Africa to assist the entire continent and all Africans in the battle.
Using his Twitter account, Shivambu lashed out at those opposed to the EFF's view that the fight in Africa against the novel coronavirus should be a united, continental effort, saying that objection to the EFF’s view that South Africa should help the rest of the continent in the fight was indicative of “self-hate among fools”.
“They do so on exactly the same day 217 medical doctors and specialists arrived from Cuba to assist SA," he said. Shivambu hailed Cubans as friends of not only South Africa but the entire African continent, after the arrival of the Cuban Medical Brigade in South Africa to help the country in its fight against the coronavirus.
Last week, some foreign nationals residing in South Africa lamented that they felt excluded by the South African government after it implemented social relief grant measures to assist locals during the pandemic.
“Efforts to develop a pan-continental response to Covid-19 means South Africa and the entire continent will benefit from headway made in countries such as Senegal. An isolationist and xenophobic approach will not work,” said Shivambu.
This came after a Senegalese laboratory developed a $1 (R18) coronavirus test kit for the testing of citizens in that nation.
Shivambu said: “The South African government, on behalf of its people, welcomed and received assistance to fight Covid-19 from China, from Cuba and even from the imperialist US. And when we correctly call for South Africa to extend a helping hand to the entire continent, a mob of fools says 'no'. Sad!
“During apartheid, many African countries and people in Zambia, Tunisia, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique and Nigeria hosted, fed and protected South Africans who left for political, educational and socio-economic purposes."
In recent years, the EFF has advocated strongly for African unity, denouncing xenophobic attacks in South Africa and even going as far as advocating for a borderless Africa, the creation of a United States of Africa and a continental army to ward off imperialist advances and to unseat undemocratically elected governments in Africa.