EFF and BLF hold separate pickets
Attitudes towards former president Jacob Zuma on Monday divided two anti-Pravin Gordhan pickets during his muchawaited testimony at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture.
Vociferous groups of protesters from the EFF and the Black First Land First (BLF) movement gathered outside the commission venue in Parktown‚ Johannesburg‚ calling for the public enterprises minister to resign.
Despite having the same objective‚ they faced off in two separate camps.
EFF Gauteng’s Moshe Koma said it could not picket with BLF‚ as the party had protected an allegedly corrupt Zuma.
“This very same BLF was supporting Zuma all along . . . they are just using the platform to seek relevance‚” Koma said.
Meanwhile‚ BLF deputy president Zanele Lwana said the party would not join hands with the EFF‚ charging that the red berets’ fight with Gordhan was just a means to settle political scores.
“When president Zuma fired Gordhan‚ it was [the EFF] that marched hand in hand with white monopoly capital calling for Pravin to be reinstated.
“Now evidently they have had a fallout with Pravin‚ this is why the leader of the EFF is quite vocal about [their call] that Pravin must resign – not because of principle or fighting white monopoly capital‚ but to settle political scores. The organisation is not genuine‚” Lwana said.
On the BLF’s reason for staging the picket‚ Lwana said Gordhan was conflicted and should not be in government.
The EFF’s Koma labelled Gordhan a white monopoly capital fraud.
“He is as corrupt as the other corrupt ANC members‚ the entire ANC must fall‚” Koma charged. –