Johannesburg – Two newcomers in the South African political scene, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Agang South Africa (AgangSA) exchanged a war of words this week after Agang SA publicly welcomed new members who had defected from the EFF. Julius Malema’s EFF on Wednesday accused AgangSA party leader of buying its new members. A claim Agang SA called “wild and unsubstantiated.” “AgangSA rejects with contempt claims by the EFF that it lured the almost 300 of members to defect to it with money. This proves the poverty of thought and ideas in the EFF that our new members have walked away from to join AgangSA, where critical debate is valued,” said spokesperson Thabo Leshilo. According to AgangSA the new members cited “unrealistic policies” as a reason for switching alliances. The EFF disputed this as the reason: “We are further aware that many of them defected because they were promised payments for the work they will do in AgangSA” said EFF National Spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi in a statement on Wednesday. “This means they were bought by Dr. Mamphele [sic] Ramphele with the money she got from the sweat and blood of Mineworkers and our Mineral resources taken the fortunes she makes of shares from mining companies,” added Ndlozi, referring to Ramphele’s position as shareholder in a number of mining companies. Leshilo said these accusations by the EFF “reflect the unfortunate tendency in our country to substitute insults for debate; and to drag down political discourse to levels at which the likes of the EFF are comfortable participating – including character assassinations and insults.” He added that the new members switched to AgangSA because of the party’s commitment to internal democracy and its vision of restoring the promise of freedom. The EFF made it clear however that these members will no be missed: “The EFF is only going to its third month since it formed as a mass party, and it already boasts with programs that have gained popularity with the popular classes. Economic Freedom Fighters therefore remains on course in its pursuit of economic freedom in our lifetime,” the party said.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:17:35 +0000
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