ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE THIRD CENTRAL COMMAND TEAM MEETING

Address By: Commander-In-Chief Julius Malema

Monday. 26 October 2020

The Economic Freedom Fighters held the 3rd Central Command Team meeting of the 2nd National People's Assembly from the 23rd- 25th of October 2020 at the Birchwood Conference Centre to deliberate on important political and organisational matters, The CCT meeting was the first meeting where members were physically present since the lockdown regulations introduced as part of the efforts to curtail the rapid spread of Coronavirus.

While the CCT adopted a policy perspective that says that Local Government Elections and General Elections must be synchronised, we also adopted a framework towards the 2021 Local Government Elections which will be finalised when we hold the EFF Elections Strategy Workshop. Our determination and focus is on preparing the EFF for government because, in 2021, the EFF will win a significant number of votes in different municipalities across the country.

The CCT was appraised of the work of the EFF Labour Desk and the so many positive achievements it has achieved. Many workers who were unfairly dismissed and whose UIF payments were delayed have benefitted from the work of the EFF Labour Desk. We call on all companies that have claimed the Unemployment Insurance Funds for their employees to immediately pay workers what is due to them within the next 48 hours. The EFF will organise mass actions against all companies that have claimed the UIF from the State and still have not paid the workers. Workers must contact the EFF to alert us of companies that have not paid the UIF, and we will visit them.

Commissar Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi will assume the duty of Heading the Labour Desk and ensure that it remains robust and the first line of defence for vulnerable workers.

The CCT was also appraised of the establishment of the EFF Gender Desk under the guidance of the Deputy Secretary-General whose primary purpose is to take up programmes on all gender-related matters. The Gender Desk has been involved in so many programmes on issues of gender-based violence and made submissions to the Parliamentary process of strengthening and mainstreaming legislation on gender-based violence.

The CCT appreciates the courage and determination of EFF Ground Forces and all Provincial Leaders who attended the EFF programme in Senekal, Thabo Mofutsanyane Region in the Free State. The EFF programme in Senekal demonstrated that the EFF is the only solid, dependable and courageous revolutionary movement in South Africa. When cowards were afraid to confront the white terrorists and thugs who burned police vehicles and shotguns inside a court of law, the EFF took a correct revolutionary stance to stop the nonsensical conduct of the terrorists.

We are engaged in this programme because we know that the real intention of the white minorities protests in Senekal and many parts of South Africa is to undermine the long-overdue land reform programme, particularly expropriation of land without compensation. We will never abandon the expropriation without compensation programme because it seeks to correct the injustices of the past of land thieves who took our land by force and reduced us the rightful owners into foreigners in our own land.

The EFF will embark on a concerted programme to defend the rights of farmworkers because they are the most exploited section of society. The EFF branches will visit and engage with farmworkers with the purpose of finding lasting solutions to their suffering and problems. We know that farmworkers continue to be mistreated and abused by their employers, and we call for an end to the abuse and mistreatment of farmworkers. As part of this programme, we will table a draft resolution in parliament proposing for an establishment of the commission of inquiry into the conditions and remuneration of farmworkers.

The EFF has been vindicated on the capture of those within the media, which are used to fight the political opponents of the regime.

We have long said that South African media has people who masquerade as journalists while they are actually politicians. It is more concerning that there seems to be a trend of journalists using the media fraternity as a springboard to political appointments within the State.

Ranjeni Munusamy, a paid spy who now works as a Political Secretary in Treasury, has long shown that she is biased in her reporting, This was done so that she can secure a job within the State. Munusamy still has undenied claims against her, of receiving money from an intelligence slush fund, She has a long history of being compromised and is a known member of ANC factions, dating back to the days of Jacob Zuma.

Former Daily Maverick journalist Sam Mkhokeli now works as a Spokesperson in the Ministry of Public Enterprises. Mkhokeli has turned a state department into a personal PR company of Pravin Gordhan. The Ministry releases media statements constantly defending Gordhan from his personal and political opponents.

It is a blatant threat to media independence and impartiality when journalists actively canvass for jobs within the State by writing negatively about opposition parties. particularly the EFF. It reveals that there is no genuine media in South Africa, and we are engaged in a fight with politicians who do not want to rise within the ranks of political parties, Rather they abuse the reach of media in order to enrich themselves.

We note that the South African Police Service and the National Prosecutions Authority have started arresting people accused of corruption and wrongdoing, Our demand is that the SAPS and NPA must not forget those who collapsed Steinhoff leading to the Government Employees Pension Fund forfeiting more than R20 billion of its investments. The SAPS must not forget the Banks CEOs who manipulated South Africa's currency for private benefits. The SAPS and NPA must also arrest people when they are ready to prosecute them instead of arresting people when they are not immediately ready for prosecutions.

The SAPS, NPA and Special Investigations Unit must act decisively to recoup the monies lost due to PPE corruption. In all instances where government overpaid for PPE and other health-related services, these monies must be claimed back, and those involved in the inflation of prices must be held accountable.

In doing so, the SAPS, NPA, SIU and Government must avoid the temptation of categorising all black businesses that benefitted from PPE as automatically corrupt. Decisive action must be taken against all companies that have done wrong. and companies that complied to the process and price regulations must be paid for the services they have provided.

We reiterate our call for the unsealing of the #CR17 Documents. The continued secrecy practised by Cyril Ramaphosa is concerning because it is likely that the donors found within the documents are beneficiaries of tenders. appointments within the State and are in control of the policy perspectives of South Africa. The most recent example of the dodgy relationships by the President is the Mooikloof development which was endorsed by the President although it was not BEE compliant, and there are concerns as to how the development was approved.

This level of capture, in which Ramaphosa's Presidency was bought, can only serve to further the white-minority control of our economy and the dictating of the economic direction of the country by an elite few. The EFF will not retreat in our bid to unseal the #CR17 documents and will take the battle to the highest court of the land.

The CCT reflected on Cyril Ramaphosa's Economic Recovery and Reconstruction plan and came to a correct conclusion that is it shallow and will not alter the structural deficiencies and racial inequalities that define South Africa's economic ownership and control, Ramaphosa's economic recovery plan deliberately omits the land question, particularly expropriation of land without compensation.

It further ignores the necessary focus on ownership and control of strategic sectors of the economy. Without a fundamental change to the ownership and control of South Africa's economy, it will continue to exclude and super-exploit the black majority and Africans in particular. The EFF will soon present a detailed and alternative Economic Recovery Plan, which will provide workable solutions on what is to be done.

In the build-up to the Local Government Elections, all EFF Regions must hold Regional People's Assemblies before the end of March 2021. Regions that will be permitted to hold the RPAs are strictly those who would have launched EFF branches in a minimum of 90% of wards in the respective regions. The Secretary-General will send the Guidelines to all structures on processes that must be pursued and adhered to towards the Regional People's Assemblies.

We call on all genuine members of the EFF to exercise maximum discipline in the build-up to and during RPAs. A Special National Disciplinary Committee has been set up to deal with all breaches relating to the upcoming Regional People's Assemblies. Any member of the EFF who engages in disruptive and fraudulent conduct towards and during the RPAs will be swiftly and decisively dealt with.

The EFF remains the only hope for the hopeless masses and the only weapon in the hands of the oppressed and exploited masses of our people. It is on this basis that we will do everything in our power to protect and defend the integrity of our organisation and will not allow opportunists to disrupt its proper functioning. No member of the EFF is entitled to any leadership position, it is the sole prerogative of members to elect their leaders democratically, and no one shall impose themselves into leadership without the approval of members,

The EFF condemns the Nigerian government's violence against its own citizens and calls for decisive condemnation of these violent acts by the African Union. We also condemn the killing of children in Cameroon, which continues to be led by an illegitimate puppet of France Paul Biya, who has been President since 1982. All Africans must reject and disassociate from State sponsored violence like is happening in Nigeria and Cameroon. The youth of Nigeria must not retreat in their militancy and must fight until victory, The people of Cameroon must rise against the puppet regime of Paul Biya and usher in a dispensation that will respect all the people of Cameroon, including those from Ambazonia.

We call for maximum stability in Zimbabwe and condemn the Zimbabwean government's continued mistreatment of its people, We are concerned about Zimbabwe because it is distally failing to regain stability and cannot even re-establish its own currency and monetary system, We demand a stable government in Zimbabwe which respects all its citizens and work collectively to revive its economy, provide jobs for the people of Zimbabwe and defeat poverty,

We do not have any expectations on the US Elections because whoever wins will continue with the same US agenda, which has no respect for other people in the world, Whoever wins elections in the US will continue with the militarism, establishment and sustenance of military bases in different parts of the world and imperialism which does not respect other people's lives and freedoms.

We call on the people of South Africa to exercise maximum caution and protective measures against the Coronavirus, The reality is that there is still no cure and no vaccine for Corona and the most dependable measure to limit its rapid spread is social distancing, wearing of masks and recurrent hygiene practices which include washing of hands. The people of South Africa must stop behaving as if Corona is gone, it is still here, and the 2nd wave of infections will kill a lot of people. We must stay safe and always protect our health,

Lastly, we congratulate Shudufhadzo Musida for being crowned Miss South Africa 2020. What is inspiring about Shudufhadzo Musida is the fact that she comes from a village in the rural areas of Limpopo where there are very little opportunities, Despite these, our Miss South Africa 2020 is not just beautiful; she also cherishes education. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Pretoria and currently enrolled for an Honours Degree in International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. We wish her well.

Issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 26 October 2020