Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema says his party has made peace with not being invited o the Brics political parties dialogue, an event organised by the ANC.
Malema said that the exclusion was not a concern since it was an ANC event and not a Brics political parties summit.
“It is not a Brics political parties summit. It is an ANC Brics political summit. Why would we feel bad for not being invited to an ANC meeting? The ANC called its alliance parties and did not invite us.
“It is well and good. We are not friends. We did not invite them to our rally. It’s fair and square,” said Malema while addressing the media on Thursday.
[WATCH] #EFF leader #JuliusMalema says the red berets are at ease with the ANC not inviting them to the #BRICS political parties’ dialogue. “We are not friends.” pic.twitter.com/EYcnzwVQLr
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 13, 2023
Last week Malema attributed the ANC’s decision to “political jealousy” and criticised the governing party for trying to undermine the EFF’s presence in global affairs.
“It is patently clear that the EFF is an important voice in the global affairs of society, and to undermine calls for its presence at Brics is nothing, but political jealousy,” The Citizen, quoted Malema as saying during a media briefing at the EFF’s headquarters in Johannesburg on Thursday.
But the ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said his party was not obligated to invite the EFF to the event.
“Our allies, the youth, the students, we’ve invited them. EFF and Julius are not invited. If they want to organise their own, they can organise… but this one is the ANC’s.”
[WATCH] We have nothing against the EFF being invited to BRICS by whoever. We will not interfere anyhow with their invitation. https://t.co/LJNGt9m6B1 pic.twitter.com/PxIrb2Pyzd
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Cde Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) July 7, 2023
The three-day Brics political parties dialogue was scheduled to take place in Boksburg from 18 to 20 July, preceding the Brics heads of state summit next month.
Mbalula said: “There’s then the Brics Heads of State Summit in August [which is] convened by government. I represent the ANC and even myself I have not received an invitation to that summit. If the EFF and Julius [or any party] are invited then we have no right to stand against that invitation. That will be the call of the South African government,” the ANC secretary-general said.
“We have got a lot on our plate to be thinking about the EFF at every turn of the moment so why would the ANC oppose other political parties if they are invited. We have got our own programme of action. If there’s confusion there, we are now clarifying it once and for all. There are two here events here.”
At least 57 local and foreign parties were invited to the dialogue while the EFF and the Democratic Alliance (DA) were excluded.
The three-day Brics political parties dialogue was scheduled to take place in Boksburg from 18 to 20 July, preceding the Brics heads of state summit next month.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
