Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema expressed concern over the high levels of unemployment in South Africa.
Malema, who spoke at the EFF’s 10th-anniversary celebration at Marikana Koppie in North West, pointed to the large turnout of supporters during working hours as evidence that many people in the country were unemployed, News24 reported.
“I am happy, SG [secretary-general], that the rally was organised during the week and during the day, we do not have to say anything.
“The international community must ask the question, ‘Why so many people during working hours?’ The answer is simple, they are unemployed, and there are no jobs because the government of the day has destroyed the economy of South Africa,” the report quoted Malema as saying.
VIDEO | The #EFF says it is disappointing that the people of Marikana are still living in squalor, more than 10 years after the #MarikanaMassacre. #EFF10thAnniversary https://t.co/vOeQrWNq1B pic.twitter.com/1J01vtPkXw
— SABC News (@SABCNews) July 26, 2023
The EFF was established in 2013 at the same location where 34 striking miners were killed in 2012.
Malema said that some of the survivors had asked him and other leaders, including EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu and the late Sindiso Magaqa, to form an alternative political party to the ANC, and they heeded that call.
Malema said that Marikana held special significance for the EFF and is considered the party’s “spiritual home”.
He celebrated the occasion with traditional rituals, including slaughtering cows and making traditional beer as offerings and sacrifices.
[WATCH] EFF leaders drinking sorghum beer as they pay respect to the 34 miners who were gunned down at the Koppie in Marikana. This was a pivotal moment in the formation of the party. @AthiMtongana reports.#EFF10thAnniversary #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/dWHpui8tnj
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 26, 2023
According to Times Live, the red berets slaughtered more than 15 cows and made traditional beer as a way of offering a sacrifice in Marikana to thank the originators of the party for all the blessings.
Malema said the cow has the power to connect the living to the departed and it is a medium through which a number of rituals are carried out in the African tradition.
“This ritual has to do with the living and the dead, childhood to adulthood, weddings, thanksgivings, weddings, burials — all symbolically bringing up the dead to oversee the current nation,” he said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
