Durban - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa does not qualify for South African tenders because "he is not black enough and he has done everything in his life to please white people", Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said on Tuesday.
"Tenders must be given to genuine blacks. Cyril Ramaphosa is not black, he is non-white. Everything else he is doing in his life is to please white people. We can't say he is black," said Malema.
Malema was addressing hundreds of Student Command members at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Westville campus.
Malema said the EFF wanted tenderpreneurs "who will not be used by whites".
"We want blacks who will not be fronted by white people. We say we are empowering black people, only to find that we're empowering curtains. At the back of those people are white people. We're not ashamed to empower and fight for black people," he said.
The EFF is in Durban ahead of its fourth anniversary, scheduled to be held at Curries Fountain on Saturday.
'We didn't sell out'
Malema said the EFF didn't sell out in Johannesburg and Pretoria, where the party put the Democratic Alliance into power, because senior positions were being occupied by black people in those municipalities.
"Since August 2016, senior positions are occupied by blacks, not just mediocre blacks or EFF black, but qualified blacks - black qualified South Africans, so that they provide quality services to our people. Every time they bring a name that sounds European, we say this name must go and occupy the last position because this is our country," he said.
Malema said the party would turn KwaZulu-Natal upside down, whether President Jacob Zuma - who is from the province - liked it or not.
"We are going to have our fourth anniversary at the backyard of Jacob Zuma, whether he likes it or not. EFF is here to stay. We are turning four, and we will be hundred soon, we don’t suffer from longevity," he said.
Malema said that when some ANC leaders left for Dubai in 2019, the EFF would still be in the country.
'You must graduate within a record time'
It was reported that Zuma allegedly owns a R330m Dubai mansion, bought for him by the controversial Gupta family.
However, the Presidency dismissed the report, saying the information was fabricated.
Malema encouraged the EFF student wing to study hard in order to make space for new students.
He took a swipe at the ANC-aligned student organisation, the SA Students Congress (Sasco).
"The leadership of the EFF Student Command must lead by example and go to study and pass with flying colours. You must graduate within a record time and create space for other people.
"Some Sasco people even want to rename some residences after themselves because they've been here for more than 10 years. Don't be like Sasco members who want to become permanent residents in this campus," he said.
He warned students not to get involved in corrupt university activities.
