The EFF statement on the national peoples assembly being held in the University of the Free State

26 November 2014

The Economic Freedom Fighters welcomes the University of the Free State's decision to avail the university premises for our first elective National Peoples Assembly on Peoples Power for Economic Freedom. The EFF commends the University in particular because since our formation on the 26 of July 2013 many public spaces have been closed down for the new economic emancipation movement. Many cities and town councils, municipalities, academic, sports and entertainment centres have bowed to the pressure of anti-democratic forces, often located in the ruling party, to refuse us places to hold our meetings.

The University of the Free State has thus demonstrated that the principles and practice of academic freedom and institutional autonomy still exist in our society. The university does not have to agree with the EFF or its policies, it only needs to uphold and promote the principle that there must be a robust contestation of ideas in society and universities must be the first defence and providers of such a space. Those who hold different ideas, who challenge power, must feel safest in a democratic university and the university must be the first and last refuge for academic expression, ideological contestation and freedom of speech.

Anti-democratic forces who close public spaces against us simply because we hold a different view must be condemned as they fundamentally undermine and violate our democratic right to the freedom of assembly; but above all, by denying us places to assemble, they deny us the freedom of speech, particularly collective forms of free speech. Failing to argue against us and in light of the obvious fact that our ideas are winning in society, they choose to cowardly shut down public spaces denying our right to freedom of assembly.

A Democratic university or a university in a democracy, by virtue of being the centre of culture, learning and knowledge production, must be the first defence of the freedoms of speech and assembly. This is because learning, knowledge and cultural production are impossible without freedoms of speech and assembly. The EFF therefore commends the university in this regard, that under the current management South Africans will find that the doors of learning and culture are indeed open for the radical political movements like the EFF.

We further commend the university for demonstrating institutional autonomy which allows it to defy the government or any other power in society that tries to close doors against those who hold a different view. This is important because many doors where the EFF knocked, they were not opened simply because we hold a different view from that of the government of the day which abuses its power, resources and influence to shut down spaces against the EFF.

The National Peoples Assembly is the first national gathering of the EFF that will be constituted by delegates from branches in good standing from across different wards in South Africa. Already, the EFF has launched six provinces, Western Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, signifying that our road to the National Peoples Assembly is indeed paved with a peoples mandate.

The National Peoples Assembly of the EFF will take place on the 13 to 16 December 2014, under the theme of Peoples Power for Economic Freedom. We invite members of the University, all South Africans, Africans and the international community to contribute to the policy formulations that will take place by submitting proposals to the EFF leadership. The discussion documents of the assembly have been published on our website and there contacts for all contributions is also online.

The EFF statement on the success of the Northern Cape, Free State and Western Cape Provincial Peoples Assemblies

26 November 2014

The Economic Freedom Fighters congratulates all fighters in the provinces of Free State and Western Cape for hosting successful Provincial Peoples Assemblies. The EFF places particular emphasis on the success of the Northern Cape Provincial Peoples Assembly which had collapsed in the previous weekend. After a meticulous processing of queries by the delegation of the CCT, the assembly proceeded with revolutionary discipline and elected the new leadership of the province.

The EFF therefore congratulates the first and newly democractically elected leadership since EFF was founded a little over a year ago. This signifies that EFF is a living organization with a future no less than bright. Furthermore, the EFF is confident that all these efforts will result into a successful National Peoples Assembly on People's Power for Economic Freedom.

Statements issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, November 26 2014

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