EFF press statement following 15th Central Command Team meeting
15 May 2022
We take this opportunity to pay tribute once again to Hillary Gardee, the daughter of our former Secretary General, Godrich Gardee. Hillary Gardee is a daughter of the struggle born of a father who volunteered to be a liberation soldier against apartheid and colonialism.
When many people were collaborating with the ruling class here in South Africa, Godrich Gardee was being trained as a soldier to fight against apartheid and colonialism. When some were rushing for opportunities, Godrich Gardee was sharpening his skills and gaining further education in Nigeria so that he becomes a skilled, disciplined, and hardworking servant of the people.
Hillary Gardee was murdered by criminals who must be held accountable and must be jailed forever. We as the EFF are actively involved in seeking justice for Hillary Gardee, and caution the police service and political leaders to not play dirty, dangerous, and opportunistic political games on a sensitive case of murder.
The police must do everything in the power and must utilize the most advanced forms of investigations to find out what happened and who did what on the disappearance and murder of Hillary Gardee. We assure her that we will find the murderers and will make sure that they are jailed forever. May her soul Rest in Peace.
The EFF calls on men to stop killing and harassing women and children. The levels and extend of Gender Based Violence and violence in general South Africa is unacceptable. Year on year, for the past 5 years of more, South Africa has more than 20 000 murder cases. Despite this crisis, Murderers are easily given bail by South Africa's criminal justice system which is evidently corrupted particularly at magistrates' level. South Africa's criminal syndicates have effectively captured Courts and doing as they wish because they know there will be no consequences.
The Economic Freedom Fighters held its Central Command Team meeting on the 14th and 15th of May 2022. The CCT's main purpose was to receive reports from all structures of the EFF across the length and breadth of South Africa.
All Ground Forces of the EFF are working hard in the recruitment of new EFF members towards the I million membership target. Majority of EFF Branches are meeting the weekly and monthly targets on recruitment of new members, and many revolutionary activists are joining the organization online.
We once again call on revolutionary activists and all people in South Africa to join the EFF because is it the only weapon in the hands of the oppressed and exploited black people in South Africa, Africa, and the diaspora. The EFF is the only anti-colonial, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movement in the entire African continent and the only organization that is truly fighting for the total emancipation of all black people.
Moreover, we call on all people in South Africa of all ages and races above the age of 16 to join the EFF in their numbers because it is the only weapon for true liberation.
EFF branches will be convening their Branch General and People's Assemblies starting from June 2022 in preparation of the Provincial People's Assemblies which are scheduled to take place before the end of 2022. We call on all members of the EFF to exercise maximum discipline in all the Assemblies because the people of South Africa do not and will not respect organizations that are defined by infighting.
The CCT commends the work of the organization in Ward 3 Phokwane and Ward 5 Mafikeng where an absolute majority of voters voted for EFF Councilors. The EFF will continue to win Wards in all provinces because our people have faith in the organization.
The CCT commends the work of the EFF Students' Command which is currently the dependable voice of students in all South Africa's Universities, Universities of Technology and TVET colleges. The EFFSC will be holding its 3rd National Students' Assembly in June to elect new leadership and also determine the programme of action for students.
The CCT observes that under the current government, the conditions of the people of South Africa are getting worse with rising levels of unemployment and poverty. While our people are getting poorer, the current government has surrendered all power to the white capitalist establishment. Government has already declared that it is not its responsibility to create jobs, but responsibility of the white capitalist establishment.
In the middle of job losses and rising poverty levels, the prices of all necessities are rising, and this includes the prices of fuel. Rising fuel and food prices worsen the living conditions of our people and the current government has no willingness and capacity to combat rising prices that worsen the living conditions of our people.
The current South African government had already started the dangerous and evidently unsustainable path of privatization of State-Owned Companies. We condemn and oppose the disposal of South African Airways because its disposal is not justifiable and corrupt. There is absolutely no rationality on selling off an airline for R51 to people who are linked to and controlled by the white capitalist establishment.
We will do everything in our power to reverse the sale of SAA because it is evident that all State-Owned Companies will first be made to not function well, and thereafter given for free to the white capitalist establishment.
The problems of ESKOM and DENEL are part of the current's government intention and method of incapacitating State-Owned Companies so that they can be later handed over to the private sector. The current load shedding and crises in ESKOM are purposefully created to justify the subsequent disposal of ESKOM to the greedy white capitalist class.
South Africa's energy policy and direction are being directed by both domestic and global capitalist interests. This is demonstrated by the recurrent announcements and policy statements by Western powers on the form and transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy South Africa must adopt. What is evident now is that there is no believable plan for a just transition that will secure the work and wellbeing of communities and workers that depend on coal for their livelihoods.
The activities of the Workers Day this year have demonstrated that workers in South Africa do not have any form of organized protection. The workers' rejection of Ramaphosa and ANC must be commended and must be repeated everywhere because the ANC has sold out the workers.
The Unions that are affiliated to the ruling party are led by Careerists and aspirant businesspeople who are controlled by factions in the ruling party and different fractions of the capitalist class. As a movement whose primary interests is the liberation of the working class and poor people, the EFF will not stand by and watch when workers are left defenseless because current Union leaders are in bed with the ruling party and capitalists.
Many sectors of labour including in the public service remain defenseless because there are no Unions, or the so-called Unions are controlled by the ruling class. We as the EFF will do everything possible to ensure that workers are better organized and defended by Unions that are not in the pockets of capitalists and government.
In the immediate, the EFF Labour Desk will continue to represent workers in different provinces and regions. Workers who are defenseless must continuously contact the EFF Labour Desk when they are confronted with difficulties. Workers are at the core of development and humanity, and we carry an obligation as the EFF to defend them with everything in our power. We will not stand by and do nothing when workers are being super exploited and harassed by greedy capitalists.
The EFF has observed the continued deterioration of conditions in the continent, with no verifiable governmental unit existing for collaboration towards African Unity and Independence from our colonizers.
Rwanda has gone on a dark and regrettable path of engaging in slave trade with the United Kingdom, by accepting money in exchange for accommodating immigrants and refugees who reside in the UK. The EFF reiterates its position that President Paul Kagame must immediately desist from trading flesh for money, to alleviate the immigration issues faced by the ultimate colonizers, whose theft and war crimes, has led to poverty in Africa and the Third World.
We have observed closely that disunity in the continent is being sown by most former liberation movements. This is done through blaming other Africans for the social, political, and economic ills of our respective societies. The truth remains that, it is the incapacity of regimes which promised liberation, to provide adequate healthcare, employment, and to eradicate poverty, which sustains our collective suffering.
It is because of the commitment to corruption and war by those tasked with protecting Africans, that we see Africa dwindling into re-colonisation. As such, our people are directed to fight one another, instead of fighting those who stole the land, who have monopolized our wealth, and continue to under-develop us through debt.
Today, our continent is suffering from dependency on loans from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These institutions undermine our sovereignty, and make African nations compete for the favor of imperialists. They do this by imposing conditionalities that undermine our collective capacity to conduct internal trade and build a unified African economy, free of borders.
The EFF will continue to wage a principled war against imperialist forces, particularly those who undermine our economic, military, and political sovereignty, such as France, and we demand the immediate exit of France from African affairs.
The EFF will intensify its support for the struggle towards the liberation of the people of Swaziland. We call on all progressive and life minded democratic forces in Swaziland to unite the demand for democracy and abolition of absolute monarchy in Swaziland. We will continue to unapologetically and fully support all efforts for the democratization of Swaziland.
We commend the Russian Federation's government anti-imperialist programme against the war alliance of NATO. We are unapologetic about our support for the Russian Federation anti-imperialist war because all the wars that have happened since the end of the USSR have been imperialist wars to further the interests of Western Imperialism.
We as the EFF are opposed to imperialism, that is why we condemn the presence of the American military base in Botswana and oppose the intended establishment of any military base in Zambia.
Furthermore, the EFF condemns the Namibian government's arrest of EFF Members of Parliament and EFF Activists who are militantly fighting against the corrupt government of SWAPO.
Lastly, the EFF demands the release of all those who were arrested, and caution the Namibian government that we will not allow the harassment of EFF leaders anywhere in the African continent.
Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 16 May 2022
