Manthemba Teffo and her brother Tiisetso barely slept as they prepared for the EFF national elective conference at the University of the Free State.
When Manthemba Teffo (23) and her brother Tiisetso (27) started an embroidery and printing business in 2007, they never imagined they would achieve their economic freedom through the sale of red berets.
Today, the Teffo siblings – owners of Mashoto Tiisetso Trading and Projects – make the bulk of their profit from the sale of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) merchandise.
At this week’s EFF inaugural congress Manthemba and Tiisetso were the only people selling party regalia.
Though they started their business seven years ago, one of their biggest breaks came in March this year when the EFF asked them to supply party T-shirts and berets.
The pair made R200 000 out of that single order.
“On a normal month, we make R50 000 profit,” Manthemba said.
Conference opportunity
Adorned in EFF regalia from head to toe, Manthemba reluctantly agreed to an interview with the Mail & Guardian at the University of the Free State, the venue of the party’s gathering.
She sold berets, overalls, bags, hats and a variety of shirts for the duration of the conference.
As part of an exclusive supplier agreement with the EFF, Mashoto Tiisetso Trading and Projects pays a R5 000 annual registration fee to the party, and 20% of the company’s annual profits go to the party.
The EFF’s trademark beret has been overtaken by the red overalls and helmets, which were made popular by EFF MPs, as the bestselling items.
Some overalls carry the word Asijiki, an earlier EFF slogan and the party’s logo.
Party colour helmets bear the phrase “pay back the money” that was chanted by EFF MPs during President Jacob Zuma’s question- and-answer session in August.
No rest
“We never sleep,” said Manthemba. “We didn’t sleep the whole of last week as we were preparing for the conference at the University of the Free State.”
Starting the business with a R1.5-million loan from their mother, the siblings took a gamble, but today are proud that they are servicing the loan decently.
Their mother had been a domestic worker and her employer, who has since died, had, in 1992, taken out an investment policy for her without her knowledge.
Manthemba said her mother, who can’t read or write, passed on the clothing design skills she had used to make clothes for sale as a way of supplementing her monthly wage of R1 200.
Before joining the EFF, Manthemba and Tiisetso were members of the ANC Youth League and helped to make some of the league’s trendy merchandise.
Red berets
This is where EFF leader Julius Malema, then the youth league’s president, resuscitated the beret.
Originally from Ga-Mashashane village in Limpopo, the Teffo siblings now live in Johannesburg, where they ply their trade.
Manthemba said, even though she and her brother were now EFF members, the tense relationship between the party and the ruling ANC had not affected them.
They have had no difficulty in getting business from government departments and other businesses linked to the ANC.
Their business employs 15 permanent and two temporary workers.