As various political parties amplify their election campaigns, EFF President Julius Malema also took his party’s campaign trail to Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
While addressing community members, Malema said the EFF was the only party that spoke the language of the downtrodden and marginalised.
“Only the EFF speaks for the poor of the poorest. We are an organisation of petrol attendants. There is no prisoner without electricity. You are NOT a prisoner, but you don’t have electricity,” he added.
The Red Beret leader said his organisation wanted to produce future farmers in the province as it was full of arable land.
“This province is rich in agriculture. Re batla le be le di farm. When you are in agriculture, when you own plots and farms, there will not be anyone who is unemployed.
We want the land to be given to our people. Siya ufuna umhlaba… Everyone one of you must have a piece of land. When you have a piece of land, you have your dignity.”
Malema told scores of his supporters that land did not only belong to white people, but was for all ethnic groups.
He went on to say the current government had stripped dignity away from people by failing to provide them with basic services.
“We want to give every household in Bushbuckridge a flushing toilet. You cannot say ‘I’ve got dignity’, when you don’t have a flushing toilet,” he said.
Malema said the current government was not providing people with the quality services they needed and deserved.
Concerning old age grants, Malema emphasised his commitment to increase pension grants for the elderly to R4 000 per month.
Meanwhile, his deputy, Floyd Shivambu, blasted the government’s R350 social relief grants, saying they were not enough to alleviate poverty.
Shivambu said the money that the government was handing out to young people was not helping in resolving the poverty question.
“Young people were telling us that you receive the grand at 8 in the morning and by 10 is already finished and you have the whole month to deal with basic things that need to be dealt with. You need basic things like toiletry, you need to apply for jobs,” added Shivambu.
The Star