EFF repeats: Trollip must out

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will not change its decision on the motion of no confidence against DA mayor Athol Trollip in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, though it is not “willing to vote with the ANC if they ever put [forward] a corrupt candidate”.

Party spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi reiterated that the party had given the ANC “a clear idea of the measure of a person that should lead Nelson Mandela Bay”.

“Such a person has to be a Mcebisi Jonas, or come close to him in terms of integrity, anti-corruption and leadership qualities,” Ndlozi said in a statement earlier yesterday.

He said this decision was taken in retaliation to the DA’s “attitude on the land question in parliament” and announced that the EFF will be tabling a motion of no confidence in Trollip on April 6.

“No amount of deliberate misrepresentation [...] [of ] Julius Malema’s statements as hate speech will deter us from punishing the DA for their attitude on the land question,” Ndlozi said.

Earlier during the week EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu fired off a tweet a few hours after parliament overwhelmingly voted to set in motion processes to amend Section 25 of the constitution, which deals with property rights.

The amendment is ultimately aimed at providing a legislative framework for government to be able to expropriate land without compensation. This was also one of the resolutions of the ANC’s recent national conference.

The concurrence of the EFF and the ruling party during a fierce debate on Tuesday in which party leader Julius Malema called Congress of the People MP and former anti-apartheid activist Moisioua Lekota a “historical mistake” was the first time the two political foes have found common ground in parliament.

In another tweet, in response to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s lambasting the EFF, in which she referenced Crispian Olver’s book How To Steal a City, Malema said the EFF “doesn’t care” about alleged ANC corruption in Port Elizabeth.