Malema wades into Zuma

Pietermaritzburg — EFF leader Julius Malema on Sunday took aim at President Jacob Zuma in a no-holds-barred speech that lambasted the cost implications attached to the president’s love life. Speaking at the Edendale Lay Centre, Malema said Zuma should take responsibility for his wives and the taxpayers should only pay for one first lady.

He said the fact that the SAPS spent over R8 million on 11 cars for Zuma’s wives in the past five years, showed that Zuma is “selfish”. “We’ve a responsibility to provide for the wife of the president, but not wives. But this one comes with four and omakhwapheni (mistresses).

“This is like me inviting you to a party and you bring your four friends who weren’t invited to the party. Now who must pay for them? Next president please bring only one wife. You bring four, you pay for them.

“Zuma is a bhuti Madlisa [a ‘blesser’] who took our money and bought cars for his wives,” he said. Malema pointed to a nearby settlement in Edendale and said the over R8 million spent on buying cars for the wives of the president, would have changed many lives of people living there.

Malema, whose blitzkrieg in Empangeni was marred on Saturday when members of his party were pelted with stones, allegedly by ANC supporters, said KZN is the only province that has political violence and it is led by “immature and backward people who don’t know what democracy is”.

“Nowhere in the country will you find this hooliganism and foolishness. Our programmes are being disrupted by extremely old people who should be at home.

“They think they’re undermining the EFF by disrupting our rallies, but in fact they’re undermining the work done by ANC veterans who fought for this democracy.

“If they understand democracy, they should defend our right to disagree with them. If Zuma knew what he was fighting for, he should condemn the violence meted out against ordinary people. But then again, Zuma doesn’t know what he’s doing. Back then he bumped into people who were singing revolutionary songs and joined them without having an idea of what he was fighting for,” he said.

Malema said he now believes IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s insistence that the IFP was not responsible for political killings in the province. “Back then we didn’t believe him. But now we’re seeing the ruling party being intolerant. They’re even killing each other fighting for councillor posts. If you disagree with them, you’re dead,” he said.

Two hours before Malema was to deliver his speech, the road leading to the entrance of the Edendale Lay Centre had been blocked with burning tyres. There was a heavy police presence around the centre as people wearing ANC T-shirts had gathered not far from the centre.

Malema also did not spare the “white capital-owned media” and the public broadcaster. He blamed the media for portraying the EFF as a violent party. “If ANC members disrupt our rally, they’ll say there was tension between ANC and EFF members. They’re protecting the interests of the capitalists.

“This SABC is worse … It should be renamed to African National Congress Broadcaster,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malema also vowed to seize white-owned land without compensation in Msunduzi if his party wins the municipality in the local government elections. The EFF leader said he saw no point in compensating “people who didn’t buy the land”, but “stole it from our forefathers”.

“We don’t want money. We will make more money if we’ve our land. We will never be unemployed if we have our land. We’ll never be homeless if we have our land. We’ll never suffer and die in poverty if we’ve our land.

“That’s why when they arrived here, they didn’t take anyone’s wife or husband. They took the land because they knew that if you had the land, you’ve everything.

“Our struggle is a struggle for the return of land. That’s why when we take Msunduzi we will change and expropriate the land and give it to our people to use for production and settlement. That’s your land, nobody is doing you a favour,” he said.

Malema said if Zuma could return the land, he would forgive him for all his “sins”. “I’ll even forgive him for the R8 million [that was spent on Zuma’s wives’ cars]. I would say Nxamalala, Msholozi, I would say all his clan names. I’ll also go back home because what I’m fighting for, would’ve been achieved,” he said.

Malema said the EFF would also change the “corporate-like style” in which the municipalities are operating. “They’re operating like entities which need to make money. In an EFF municipality, there’ll be a rate for poor and a rate for the rich who can afford it,” he said. — Sapa