KZN will be EFF’s battle ground to unseat the ANC next year, said Malema.
EFF leader Julius Malema has accused the IFP of misappropriating public funds and running a sex-for-jobs scheme at KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.
Addressing the provincial ground forces forum in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, Malema laid into the IFP and the governing ANC, saying the latter will lose voter support in the province come the 2024 elections.
IFP in the firing line
Despite the informal coalition with IFP at certain councils, the relationship between the two parties has gone sour.
“We must keep an eye on the IFP because there are “sexual scandals and financial mismanagement everywhere they govern.”
“They don’t hire people properly, they use sexual favours, that is the way of the IFP. We can’t say we are an alternative if we are scared of IFP and ANC.
“In the absence of violence, IFP and ANC won’t win elections, they win because of violence,” said Malema.
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He slammed IFP mayors and speakers for allegedly having multiple bodyguards, adding that they suffer from “paranoia.
“How can a mayor of a rural municipality have 14 bodyguards? The speaker with nine?
“We must remove anything IFP, they used to threaten and intimidate people, they won’t do that with the EFF.
“That puppetry president of IFP pretends he has power, we are not ANC, they won’t intimidate us. We are facing two sides here in KZN – the ANC and the IFP.”
He lashed out at the cash-strapped Umsunduzi Municipality for the R27 million sponsorship for socialite Shawn Mkhize’s soccer team, Royal AM.
“You can’t take money from a poor municipality and give to people with money.
“How do you give MamMkhize money? It should be the other way around. She is richer than some of the municipalities,” he said.
eThekhwini to host manifesto launch
According to Malema, the party has identified KwaZulu-Natal as a battlefront to unseat the ANC and will throw everything to ensure victory next year.
So determined are the red berets to win over KwaZulu-Natal voters that they chose to hold their election manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in eThekhwini in February next year.
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Throwing a jab at other parties that fail to garner enough supporters to fill up venues, Malema said the EFF is an international organisation.
“You saw ex-convicts trying to imitate EFF, yesterday [ActionSA leader] Mashaba went to his place of birth to launch a manifesto, but he couldn’t fill up a stretch tent.
“We must show them there’s only one party that can go anywhere and be received by people. We are not a tribalist party, we challenge IFP to have a rally in Peter Mokaba Stadium, we are doing it at Moses Mabhida.
“But they won’t do it because they are a regional party. We are an international party, people come out to see the EFF wherever we go.”
‘We are going to remove criminals’
Quoting the Ipsos survey that indicates that the ANC will lose support in the province, Malema said his party has been ensuring that ANC loses support since its formation 10 years ago.
“Ipsos says ANC is going to lose KZN, it’s not me but the credible Ipsos which never missed a prediction about a possible election outcome for all parties, including EFF.
“And then [ANC provincial secretary] Mtolo comes to you and says ANC going to win. He is going against science, and he is not the only one.
“KZN will not be under ANC, whether they like it or not. All of South Africa will not be under ANC, we are the generation that is going to remove criminals,” he said to loud applause.
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