EFF CELEBRATES THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM MARCH
27 October, 2014
On this day, the anniversary of Oliver Tambo's birthday in 2011 the African National Congress Youth League led a march in demand of economic freedom. This was certainly the longest march in protest history where the youth, led by the then League President, and now the EFF Commander in Chief, fighter Julius Malema marched for 67 kilometres over two days, from Johannesburg to Pretoria.
The march signifies an important event in the history of youth politics since the democratic government of 1994 was elected. It mobilised young people across the country in a historic collective act of unity and discipline, demanding Expropriation of land without compensation; Free education for all; A ban on labour brokers; The nationalisation of key sectors of economy; A more aggressive foreign policy geared to improving trade; The refinement of state tender processes; and Housing for all. These are historic demands that sought to propel the advancement of the African Revolution.
The march was a demonstration of the determination to continue the decolonisation of South Africa's economy for greater participation in the wealth of the country. The defeat and asphyxiation of this radical economic emancipation program, which still unfolds in the taming and mumming down of radicals within the congress alliance, has led to the historic, brave and revolutionary decision to form the Economic Freedom Fighters.
The ideal pursuit of the economic emancipation program now finds expression in the Economic Freedom Fighters which is only in its third month since formation on the 27 July, 2013. EFF takes inspiration from this historic march; from the greatest show of determination and unity by the African child in pursuit of a demand for comprehensive radical economic change.
EFF salutes all those who took part in the march and celebrates them as heroes and heroins that continue to inspire courage and hope in the struggle for a better and more economically free South Africa and Africa. In memory of this march, EFF vows to continue the struggle for economic emancipation and the ralisation of the seven cardinal pillars;
a. Expropriation of South Africa's land without compensation for equal redistribution in use.
b. Nationalisation of mines, banks, and other strategic sectors of the economy, without compensation.
c. Building state and government capacity, which will lead to the abolishment of tenders.
d. Free quality education, healthcare, houses, and sanitation.e. Massive protected industrial development to create millions of sustainable jobs, including the introduction of minimum wages in order to close the wage gap between the rich and the poor, close the apartheid wage gap and promote rapid career paths for Africans in the workplace.
f. Massive development of the African economy and advocating for a move from reconciliation to justice in the entire continent.
g. Open, accountable, corrupt-free government and society without fear of victimisation by state agencies.
The march presented a seed that inspired the pursuit for the struggle for economic emancipation in another platform; the determination of the youth to walk a distant of that magnitude served as a statement of inspiration to fight on. This march must further be recorded in world books of history and groundbreaking records like the Guinness World Records as the longest march in terms of distance in the human history modern protest.
Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, October 27 2013
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
