Halt all political activities – EFF

MALEMA: DELAY 2021 LOCAL GOVT POLLS, FIGHT COVID Lashes out at SADC for closing ports of entry, calls for borderless Africa.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called for a complete halt of political activities, including those of parliament, provincial legislatures and councils and for this year’s local government elections to be postponed to focus on the fight against the escalating Covid-19 infections.

Addressing a virtual media briefing yesterday, EFF leader Julius Malema said the local government polls must be postponed until 2024 because internal preparations for the campaigning should have begun in July 2020 and public campaign this month, but none of that had happened due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“For elections to be free and fair there must be sufficient time to campaign, we rather put power aside and save lives,” he said.

Malema warned churches to stop their choirs because singing would spread the virus. It was not the right time to conduct rituals at funerals because of the risk posed by the virus.

Any EFF leader who attended a funeral or organised buses to ferry members risked being disciplined because that would be attempting to commit murders.

Instead, memorial services should be held after the pandemic for people who died during this period.

Malema condemned the closure of 20 SA land borders, saying this showed self-hate by the government. He lashed out the Southern African Development Committee for the decision, saying Africans should be allowed free movement in their continent.

“Let the borders be opened. There is no point at all except for people who suffer from self-hate. There must be one president, one judiciary and one legislature for Africa. One borderless continent will help defeat crime in Africa.”

He said the vaccines were welcome but their distribution and administration must not discriminate against blacks. SA must not only depend on Western pharmaceuticals but also African traditional medicine to fight the virus.

“Please don’t attack the health workers, they are overburdened and are doing everything to save lives. The shortage of beds and oxygen is not made by them but by [President Cyril] Ramaphosa and the ANC. Redirect you anger to Thuma Mina [Ramaphosa],” Malema said.

We’d rather put power aside and save lives