THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND BLACK LAWYERS ASSOCIATION JOINT STATEMENT.

14 November 2020

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) held a joint meeting on Thursday the 12th of November 2020 at the EFF Head Office, Johannesburg.

The two organisations met to discuss the public misunderstanding that occurred after the EFF President's address at the Randburg Magistrate's Court where he said that specific Law Firms owned by black people have previously displayed signs of costly and compromising incompetence. The meeting dealt with a variety of other issues including the transformation of the legal profession and the role of State institutions in empowering black legal practitioners.

After deliberations and sound reflection, the BLA accepts that EFF President Julius Malema never generalized black people as incompetent. The BLA does not doubt the EFF and its President's commitment to the transformation of the legal profession, particularly increased briefings for black legal practitioners and promotion of black Lawyers into serious responsibilities in the Judiciary. Throughout his participation in the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), EFF President has been consistent and dependable on the transformation of the judiciary. With this in context, the BLA does not question the EFF President's fitness to be a Commissioner in the JSC.

Asa way forward, the EFF and BLA will continue to work together to pursue the transformation of the legal profession and will specifically discuss common perspectives and approaches on how transformation should be pursued. The BLA will amongst others work closely with the EFF Public Representatives in Parliament to introduce transformation legislations and policies aimed at empowering and affirming black legal practitioners. In all these efforts, both organisations will frankly

talk about isolated cases of incompetence by lawyers across racial lines because incompetence and negligence does not have a race.

The EFF and BLA are unapologetically committed to promotion and protection of black legal practitioners and black people as a whole. In our subsequent engagements, the EFF and BLA will deliberate on the process of amending section 25 of the Constitution because one of the most important Parliamentary submission on expropriation of land without compensation came from the BLA. We will never be divided on side issues and we will together fight for the transformation of the legal profession and redress the imbalances of the past.

Statement issued by the EFF and the Black Lawyers Association, 14 November 2020