PIETERMARITZBURG, KwaZulu-Natal — Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema delivered a fiery address to supporters and ground forces in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, as the party intensifies its campaign ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections in November. Speaking at the city hall, Malema focused his critique on the current Government of National Unity (GNU), outlining a stark vision for job creation and leveling severe accusations against the country’s leadership.
Malema opened his address by demanding the immediate dismissal of individuals employed in the public sector solely due to their ANC connections. He directed his attention to the EFF’s youth command, acknowledging the high number of unemployed graduates and criticizing the government’s complete lack of a coherent job creation strategy. He argued that the administration deliberately scapegoats Zimbabwean nationals, deporting them to create a false narrative, while the real crisis stems from collapsing industries and closing factories under the ANC and GNU’s watch.
Emphasizing the need for massive infrastructure development, Malema declared that South Africa must be turned into a nationwide “construction site” with new industries constantly opening. He took direct aim at President Cyril Ramaphosa, questioning when the president last cut a ribbon to inaugurate a development project. Malema asserted that a president’s core duty is to announce new roads, schools, and 24-hour clinics, labeling the current leadership as inactive and “not worth the position.”
The EFF leader also highlighted the dire poverty in the Eastern Cape, stating that children are literally dying and being buried due to hunger. He accused the president of hoarding wealth, claiming state funds are being hidden “under sofas and mattresses” while citizens suffer. In a striking comparison, Malema likened Ramaphosa to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, alleging that the president is running out of space to hide illicit funds and would soon be digging holes to bury dollars, all while communities remain unemployed, without proper housing, and lacking basic school meals.
Drawing attention to systemic failures in education and healthcare, Malema noted that university students are passing but not receiving certificates while drowning in debt, as parents cannot afford tuition. He further described a collapsing health sector where pregnant women are forced to give birth on hospital floors and place newborns in cardboard boxes due to a severe lack of beds and medicine.
Furthermore, he condemned Eskom’s profit-driven model, asserting that electricity is a fundamental human right, not a business. He argued that exorbitant electricity tariffs have become a modern tool of economic exclusion. According to Malema, because the government can no longer explicitly exclude Black South Africans from the grid as it did in the past, it now uses prohibitive pricing to achieve the same discriminatory outcome.
Concluding his rally, Malema reiterated that only the EFF can dismantle the current culture of corruption and redirect those funds toward meaningful job creation, promising to make affordable electricity and systemic development a reality for marginalized communities.