EFF 10TH ANNIVERSARY MEDIA LAUNCH STATEMENT

Tuesday, 28th February 2023

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a protest movement founded on the principles of anti-capitalism, anti-sexism, anti-corruption and anti-racism, was founded 10-years ago, on the 26th of July 2013. This gallant movement for Economic Emancipation, has grown in leaps and bounds, since the fateful question of What Is To Be Done, was asked at Uncle Tom's Hall in Soweto, 10-years ago.

Formed after the painful Marikana Massacre, which proved to be a decisive moment in post-democratic South Africa, the EFF has been a response to centuries of land dispossession and the humiliation of colonial conquest which still defines South Africa today.

It was the Marikana Massacre, that shifted the national consciousness of the nation, and provided the bitter realization that the former liberation movement had indeed abandoned the poor, and collaborated with white-monopoly capital to murder mine workers who were demanding a living wage.

After broad consultation with the poorest of the poor, and all sectors of society, a decision was taken to form this vehicle for Economic Freedom, which will deliver true emancipation to our people beyond the political freedoms which were achieved in 1994. Today, the EFF reaches a decade of existence, which has been defined by an unbroken commitment to the liberation of our people.

It has been 10-years of resilience, bravery and selflessness, despite the many doomsayers who tried to frame the EFF as destined for failure. The EFF has not only resisted aggressive capitalist media, but has stood the test of time against state-sponsored attempts to destroy this only hope for African people. The EFF has exhibited both quantitative and qualitative growth since its birth, and has been a permanent feature in the political terrain of South Africa.

In the year 2014, after only a year of existence, the EFF contested the National and Provincial Government Elections fueled by the dedication and commitment of ordinary ground forces. The EFF achieved a remarkable 1.1 million votes from our people, proving that the message of land expropriation without compensation, nationalization of mines, banks and strategic sectors of the economy, and free education, healthcare and housing, resonated with our people.

Since those elections, the EFF has exhibited progressive growth in each election cycle, remaining firmly rooted in the hearts and minds of ordinary people. As it stands, the EFF has more than 1000 Public Representatives, who are present in Parliament, Provincial Legislatures, and councils across the country.

The electoral gains of the EFF, brought a new era into the sphere of governance in South Africa, characterized by anti-corruption, robust accountability in Parliament and superior and sophisticated legislative interventions to rescue South Africa from massive unemployment, poverty and from an economy defined by dependency on the West.

Upon arrival in Parliament, the EFF brought the plight of Marikana directly into the corridors of Parliament, confronting Cyril Ramaphosa for his role in the execution of 34 mineworkers as a director of Lonmin Mine.

Through the course of our journey in the sphere of governance, we have consistently provided superior logic and made proposals that would alleviate the pain and misery confronted by our people and strengthen our economy.

1. It was the EFF that exposed the billions lost due to profit shifting, base erosion and tax avoidance by white corporate South Africa, proposing the Tax Avoidance Bill in Parliament. The Bill would —

- Improve the legal tools SARS has available, by legally compelling SARS to intervene against aggressive tax avoidance schemes

- Legislate clear definitions and eliminate all legal loop hope holes and grey areas, as to what constitutes tax avoidance, and tax avoidance schemes

- Introduce strong penalty regimes for companies that participate in aggressive tax avoidance schemes

2. Mindful of the high levels of alcohol abuse particularly in African communities and the normalisation of alcohol usage, the EFF introduced a Liquor Amendment Bill to place a blanket ban on all alcohol advertising

3. Mindful of the fact that there are recurring services which are rendered by the state to provide services to people, and that a lot of expenditure is used on utilising third parties and companies at exorbitant prices, the EFF introduced the Insourcing Bill. The bill requires all government departments and State-Owned Entities (SOE)'s at national, provincial and local levels to insource all services that they provide on a recurring basis.

4. Amongst the bills we have written are the Banks Amendment Bill, which was hijacked by National Treasury which introduced a Financial Matters Amendment Bill, which makes it possible for the State to establish and own Banks. Before the EFF got to parliament, the state was not permitted by law to own banks, but now because of the EFF the state can own banks.

5. Mindful of the need to resolve the land question of South Africa, which is based on the theft of the land of African people by colonialists which sustains the landownership patterns in South Africa to this day, the EFF led the motion for land expropriation without compensation for equal redistribution in Parliament. Although betrayed by attempts of distortion by the ANC, the EFF placed the land question firmly on the table in Parliament

6. Considerate of the constant need for medical services for our people, particularly due to high levels of crime and disease due to unhealthy conditions of our communities that lack service delivery, the EFF introduced the Private Members Bill Calling for Clinics to open 24 hours a day. The bill was rejected by an ANC government that does not care for the health rights of our people

7. The EFF is currently in the process of introducing Bills such as the Bill on Student Debt Clearance, Nationalisation of the Reserve Bank, and the relocation of Parliament which sits in Cape Town as a result of a colonial pact between the Dutch and the British colonialists

8 It was the EFF that revealed the capture of key state institutions by the Gupta family, aided by the ruling party and the former President and cronies within State-Owned Enterprises. As a result, the money used for upgrades at Nkandla, amounting to R7.8 million being repaid to the South African Reserve Bank, and the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture being established.

9. The EFF introduced secret ballot in parliament, as a method of holding the sitting president accountable.

10. It was the EFF that exposed the expensive Independent Power Producers as a money-making scheme of capitalists. that charged exorbitant amounts for providing electricity at the expense of the state and tax payers.

11. In lower governance levels such as councils, In Tshwane, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth we have successfully lobbied councils to insource security and cleaning staff, resulting in material benefits such as increased wages, medical provision and improved working conditions for our people.

12. The EFF Caucus in the Free State Provincial Legislature exposed Estina¬Vrede Dairy Farm corruption and maladministration.

13. The EFF Caucus tabled a motion of "land expropriation without compensation" which was adopted and has led to the "Farmland release programme" of the Ekhuruleni metro — a programme that gives farmers the opportunity to lease land owned by the state, for farming purposes.

These are but some of the achievements and contributions of the EFF in a legislative sphere. Today, the EFF boasts an MMC for Public Safety and an MMC for Health in the City of Johannesburg, because after 10-years we have made the credible determination that We Are Ready To Govern.

The EFF has been a shield for the defenseless, and has over the years confronted racism on the streets, in the corporate sector and within governance spheres. Whether it be confronting the racists of Senekal in the Free State, or Brackenfell in Cape Town, or Phoenix in Durban, the EFF has always been at the forefront of confronting racism.

Our organization remains a champion of education, and embarks on an unrelenting fight for free education in institutions of higher learning, ensuring that thousands of students are registered for free on a yearly basis.

The EFF has established the Gender Based Violence Desk and the Labor Desk, to respond to the plight of violence against women and children, and the exploitation of workers. The two desks deal with cases on a daily basis, and defend our people from abuse and exploitation.

The EFF has been able to establish itself in all corners of South Africa, registering a presence in a majority of wards. The internal democracy of the EFF has been consistent and transparent, resulting in successive terms of leadership and structures from a branch, regional and Provincial level.

The EFF is a well-oiled organizational machine, that has elected a national leadership on two occasions, and notably none of our People's Assemblies have been defined by violence.

The journey of towards the EFF 10th Anniversary Rally, which will be held at FNB Stadium on the 29. of February 2023 has begun and the EFF will spend its 10th year re-committing itself to servicing those who are in need.

The Year 2023 has been declared the Year Of Massive Political Education and Voter Registration, meaning that we will be politically educating the more than 1 million Members of the EFF. The voter registration campaign is ongoing, and seeks to establish a new voter base for the EFF to ensure electoral victory in 2024.

The EFF has launched the Andries Tatane Campaign, in honor of Andries Tatane who was killed for demanding service delivery in Ficksburg in the Free State. The campaign involves the cleaning of dumping sites and sewage spillages in our communities, and ensuring our people understand that they are their own liberators from the inhumane conditions created by a lack of service delivery.

The health hazard posed by dumping sites in our communities constitutes a violation of human rights, and we must take responsibility for the residential areas of black people and destroy the myth that black communities must be defined by filth and lack of hygiene. The campaign is ongoing and will be implemented by all structures and Public Representatives every Saturday.

In this decade of the Economic Freedom Fighters, we will visit child orphanages and old age homes across the country, because the EFF believes in investing in the future, and also appreciating those who came before us. We are a generation of Economic Freedom Fighters which has taken the baton from our elders, and must build a nation that will be inherited by our children, and it is therefore important to always lend a helping hand to institutions that cater for the elderly and orphans.

The EFF will launch an essay writing competition and a poetry competition, wherein learners will submit their pieces which can be in any of the official languages of South Africa. The essays and poetry pieces must reflect on the history and journey of the EFF over the past 10-years. The winners of the essay writing competition will each receive R40 000 for each of the 11 Official languages, while the winner of the poetry competition will receive R50 000. Additionally, the winners will get an opportunity to recite their pieces at the EFF 10th Anniversary Rally at FNB Stadium. The deadline for all submissions will be the 31st of May 2023.

On the 1st of July 2023, the EFF will host a gathering and walkabout at Uncle Tom's Hall in Soweto, and relive the walk from the hall to Hector Pieterson Square. Uncle Tom's Hall is a sacred site in the history of the EFF, as this is where the organization was born and a resolution was taken that we will fight for the Economic Freedom of our people. We will be returning to those roots, to reaffirm the resolutions taken there on the 26th of July 2013 and continue with the struggle for the complete emancipation of our country and the continent.

On the 22nd of July 2023, the EFF will host a carnival in Sandton, Gauteng, to celebrate 10-years of selfless struggle. The carnival will be an opportunity to showcase the

journey of the EFF in a festive manner, through creative installations, music, marching bands and activities which will be friendly for families and children. The carnival will be educational and will resemble a significant display of the life of the EFF in an artistic format.

Further to this, the EFF has commissioned the development of an EFF Play, which will tell the story of the organization in a theatre setting. The play will be an objective recollection of the 10-years of the EFF, and details around its screening will be communicated in due course.

On the 25th of July 2023, the EFF will hold a Public Lecture on the history of the EFF, its significance and role in South African society at the University of Cape Town. The lecture will be delivered by a guest speaker, who will be announced and it will constitute a comprehensive reflection on the impact the EFF has made not only in South Africa, but in the continent and the diaspora.

The 26th of July 2023, will mark 10-years since the formation of the EFF, which was born out of the sacrifices made by the workers at Marikana. The Marikana Massacre gave birth to this revolutionary movement, and it was the people of Marikana who demanded that this political alternative be formed, after the gruesome murder of the workers. The EFF will therefore host a celebration with the people of Marikana at the Koppie, on the 26th of July 2023. This celebration will be to honor those whose blood nourishes the soil at Marikana, and whose lives continue to inspire our determination to bring dignity to the lives of black people.

On the 27th of July 2023, the EFF will host a gala dinner wherein an opportunity will be granted to people in the business community and the public to interact with the leadership of the EFF ahead of the massive festival of the poor to be hosted at FNB Stadium.

All of these activities will lead up the historic festival of the poor on the 29th of July 2023, where the EFF will fill the FNB Stadium to its capacity in a rally to celebrate 10-years of the EFF.

The EFF encourages all members of society to partake in the celebration of the EFF, by sharing their experience of the EFF and how it has touched their lives over the past 10-years on all social media platforms. The decade of the EFF is a remarkable achievement and is testament to the ideological and political strength of this people's movement.

The EFF takes this opportunity to remind the people of South Africa of the National Shutdown which will take place on the 2011 of March 2023. Our country is on the brink of collapse, and it is only through demonstrations on the picket lines, that we can rescue our nation from the hands of the corrupt and incompetent ANC government led by Cyril Ramaphosa.

Conditions in South Africa have worsened under Ramaphosa, with rising levels of unemployment, poverty, corruption and the collapse of our State-Owned Enterprises. We are living in permanent darkness, due to the deliberate sabotage of ESKOM, which is now on its knees and leaderless. The EFF warned the people of South Africa of the verifiable incompetence of the now outgone ESKOM CEO Andre De Ruyter, who was brought in with the sole intention of destroying and privatizing ESKOM. The people of South Africa must not fall for the cheap tricks of the ruling party, which is now pretending to condemn De Ruyter when they are the ones who appointed him, simply because he is exposing their corruption.

Our country is falling apart, and most recently South Africa has been grey listed, because we are failing to curb illicit financial flows and money laundering, and we have become a haven for the financing of terrorist activity. The people of South Africa must not forget that Cyril Ramaphosa is part and parcel of the reason our country has been grey listed, because he failed to declare millions of foreign currencies to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the South African Revenue Services (SARS). The President of South Africa is the Money Launderer in Chief, who kept millions of dollars in his mattrasses and sofa at Phala Phala Farm, undermining our economy and economic sovereignty.

Our law enforcement agencies are corrupted and compromised, and violent crime has spiraled out of control under Ramaphosa. The murder rate in this country resembles that of nations which are at war, and Gender Based Violence has reached intolerable levels. We are no longer safe because police work with criminals at the highest level, and are unable to resolve crimes such as the rising trend of mass shootings and assassinations. Enough is enough.

Let us all take a stand on the 20. of March 2023, and demand the immediate resignation of Cyril Ramaphosa, and the restoration of electricity. The longer Ramaphosa remains the President of this country, the more likely it will be that future generations will not have a country to inherit.

Ramaphosa Must Resign and He Must Resign Now!

Statement issued by the EFF, 28 February 2023