'Remove them with a vote; don't burn tyres', says Malema in KZN

The burning of tyres, schools or public property will not remove a government. The only way this can be done, according to EFF leader Julius Malema, is through a vote. "You don’t even have to wear an EFF T-shirt on election day, you can go quietly and vote EFF," he said. Malema was speaking to scores of EFF supporters in Enseleni, KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. "Why do you put yourself in danger for removing a mayor in protest while you can remove them quietly with a vote?" asked the EFF leader to a loud applause.

At the beginning of his address, he touched mostly on the need for land expropriation without compensation and urged the audience to vote EFF on May 8, in order for the land to be "returned to its rightful owners". "If you want to open businesses, the land is coming... all of us need land," said Malema. He said people needed the land more than RDP housing, because when they eventually became employed, they'll have no land available to extend their houses. Malema is on the campaign trail in KwaZulu-Natal this week ahead of the general elections.

He also denounced the recent VAT increase from 14% to 15%, and said he will fight tooth and nail to ensure commodity prices do not put pressure on poor people. "The textbooks that we are giving to children to read must be tax-free," he said. "You [government] are saying this nation must not read because books are expensive," Malema added.On the subject of social grants, Malema reiterated that he will double the child grant should he come to power. "It must be doubled... there is too much money in government, they [officials] are stealing it and misusing it," he added.

Regarding healthcare, Malema said there should be clinics in each and every ward that must provide primary care. "Some mothers give birth at the back of bakkies while being transported to hospitals which are far. This must come to a stop; we need hospitals in the wards," said the EFF leader.

Malema told his supporters that if they wanted results, they must change their vote. "Vote EFF because EFF is not afraid of white people, but rather liberated to raise concerns," said Malema. "After May 8, there will be job opportunities," he told the crowd.

The EFF president reiterated that "there is nothing special about white people, we want to share the wealth of the country with them so that we all are equal". "We are saying whites are sitting at a dining table, and we want to sit [there] with them," he added. He ended his address with struggle songs while the crowd was singing along.

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