Julius Malema’s right-hand man Floyd Shivambu has ruled out the possibility of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) collaborating with or forming coalitions with the DA or Agang SA. He said the EFF did not agree with the policies of Helen Zille and Mamphela Ramphele’s parties “because they represent something which we don’t agree with”. Speaking to The Star on the eve of the announcement of the EFF’s national and provincial leadership structures in Joburg on Thursday, Shivambu said his party planned to shake up the National Assembly after next year’s general election, then rule South Africa within the next 20 years. Asked if the EFF would work with other opposition parties that have been trying to form a grand coalition to unseat President Jacob Zuma, the former ANC Youth League spokesman said: “We will never, never align with the DA or Agang. It will never happen. They represent something which we don’t agree with and everything else. “We are going to contest power and we are going to win some of the provinces. We will probably make a huge shake-up of the National Assembly and we will take it from there.” He added that “with the declining integrity, we’re going to be the government in less than 15 years. We will be the government of South Africa. That’s the reality”. But DA national spokesman Mmusi Maimane and Agang SA communications head Thabo Leshilo said Shivambu was barking up the wrong tree because their parties were never interested in collaborating with the EFF in the first place. They said Malema’s party had a moral, integrity and accountability deficit for Zille and Ramphele to associate with them. “We never thought of ever working with them,” Leshilo said. “They have never factored in our plans. Given their history of lack of integrity and accountability, they don’t pass the test on that score alone, because to us that is the core; because we want to restore the dignity of public office.” Maimane added that the EFF fell outside the DA’s guiding principles of a market-based economy, defending the constitution, professionalisation of the state and non-racialism. “That’s the guide that informs us when we talk about the re-alignment of politics. On those principles, the EFF wouldn’t be entertained,” Maimane maintained. Shivambu, who is expected to be announced as the party’s policy head, claimed the EFF had made inroads in North West, Free State, Limpopo and Gauteng. Former Free State ANC activist Mpho Ramakatsa, who led a group of party members to a Constitutional Court victory that forced the disbandment of the Free State provincial executive committee last year, is expected to be announced as the EFF’s national co-ordinator. “There is a huge possibility that we might win North West, Free State as well, because comrades who were working with comrade Ramakatsa are on board,” Shivambu said. But independent political analyst Elvis Masoga said the EFF’s claims that it would shake up the National Assembly and rule the country within 20 years were unrealistic. This was because Malema’s party focused on economic transformation at the expense of other sectors of society such as education, health care, energy and technology. “How do you win elections if you are focused on one issue? They are extremely ambitious. The EFF sounds like an issue-based NGO because they are obsessed with radical transformation of the economy,” Masoga said.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 01:33:58 +0000
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