The outcome of the ANCs long-awaited KwaZulu-Natal conference was a win for the Thuma Mina crowd. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
DURBAN, May 29 (ANA) – South Africans who vote for the African National Congress have only themselves to blame if their service delivery needs are not met, Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said on Sunday.
The ANC needed to remember there was a “difference between government and retailers”, he told about 1500 supporters at the Mangosuthu University of Technology sports ground in Umlazi, Durban.
“This is eThekwini, not Pick n Pay. At Pick n Pay you pay for water and you receive it. That is a customer. You are not customers of eThekwini; you are citizens of eThekwini.
“We cannot have a situation where 22 years after democracy we still have people walking 10 kilometres to fetch water,” he said. “Municipalities must stop seeing people as a source of income. The municipality is not a pty limited.”
People joining the EFF hoping for “positions in government” one day were joining the wrong party. “The EFF doesn’t fight for positions, that is for the ANC,” Malema said.
“The EFF is here to liberate the minds of the African children. The ANC fights with us in this province because we speak truth to power. We should only be scared of God, not the ANC.”
Malema lambasted President Jacob Zuma for allowing the state to spend nearly R9 million on cars for his wives. “What kind of a president is that? A good leader would say just pay for one car for one wife and I will take care of the rest. President Zuma is selfish.
“Your government has failed you. They give you matchbox houses. If you have a job, you can buy a nice house, not an RDP house. You deserve the restoration of your dignity,” he said.
“The ANC is chasing [voting] numbers not dignity for its people. You can only blame yourself if you are still voting for the African National Congress and you don’t get service delivery. There is no one else to blame,” he said.
There was no truth in ANC and opposition parties’ suggestions that the EFF would collapse municipalities by giving away services for free.
“All we have to do is redirect corruption money into basic services. That money from the fancy lunches and the Johnny Walker Blue [whisky] must be used for the poor,” Malema said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
Disclaimer: This story is pulled directly from the African News Agency wire, and has not been edited by Mail & Guardian staff. The M&G does not accept responsibility for errors in any statement, quote or extract that may be contained therein.