Outgoing EFF chair calls for support of new incumbent
We are behind Zilindile Vena all the way, says Yazini Tetyana after provincial conference
Former EFF Eastern Cape chair Yazini Tetyana has called on party members to rally behind the newly elected provincial structure.
Tetyana lost to Zilindile Vena, for the provincial chair position at the EFF’s third provincial conference, known in party structures as the provincial people’s assembly.
Tetyana said the provincial leadership led by Vena had his full support.
“We are unequivocally behind him all the way,” he said.
“The new leadership of the EFF [in the province] has been elected and we are preparing a proper handover [on Monday] in terms of what we have done.”
He said he hold no grudges against Vena, describing him as his friend.
“There has never been a bad blood between me and Vena.
“We are from the same organisation and we paid the same fee to join the EFF.
“When we had the conference in 2018, he contested and lost [the chair position] in the provincial people’s assembly, but he did not lose his membership.
“We took him to the central command team and made him a member. We are friends and we go together for tea.”
The EFF MPL said he would continue to contribute to the party.
“I am still a member of the EFF in good standing.
“I belong to ward 7 in the Mbhashe subregion under the Amathole region.
“I will continue to serve the organisation. The common goal is the 2024 national and provincial elections. Vena will be in the forefront of all of us in the Eastern Cape.”
In his closing remarks during the conference held at East London’s Absa Stadium last weekend, Vena paid tribute to Tetyana and thanked him for the role he had played in leading the EFF in the province.
“I want to applaud the work that has been done by the outgoing provincial leadership which was led by Commissar Yazini Tetyana,” he said.
“The EFF is nine years old, but for the first time in the Eastern Cape, the provincial command team has finished its term.
“Commissar Yazini has served the EFF in the Eastern Cape for a very long time. He served as the co-ordinator when we were disbanded and he further availed himself [for the chair] position.
“I am singling out him deliberately because I respect him as [he led] the organisation in this province for six years without fail.
He has left a legacy and I salute all the comrades who led with him.”
Tetyana said he was proud of the EFF’s delegates who contributed to the deliberations at the conference.
“Someone would have expected our credentials in the conference to drag for long. But the EFF had a peaceful conference where the credentials were adopted in five minutes.
“No-one has questioned the results of the conference. We are happy about the trend the EFF has set in this conference.”
Vena called on members to work towards building the organisation. He also called on them to be of service to the people of the province.
“We came to the conference with different perspectives, but those differences should be left in the conference venue.
“If we are serious of building the organisation, let’s embark on a project of unity.
“I am calling upon ourselves to go out and recruit 31,000 new members by the end of November. All structures must go beyond the targeted number.”