Malema takes a swipe at EFF delegates for excluding women in party’s top five
‘No solution without women at the centre’
Unimpressed EFF leader Julius Malema has lambasted the more than 1,000 party delegates who voted for an all-male provincial top five at the weekend.
Malema addressed the delegates on Sunday at East London’s Jan Smuts Stadium, where the party held its third provincial people’s assembly.
“There’s no solution in SA without women at the centre of that development. You have failed the task as delegates of the Eastern Cape,” he said.
“You have completely failed to fulfil your mission, and that mission is that in everything else we do we put women at the centre. What type of leaders and delegates, what type of women are you, who come together in a conference like this, more than 60% of you [women], and you do not elect a single woman to the top five of the EFF?
“You must follow the principles and constitution and the ideas of the EFF. The EFF teaches you that fundamentally we need women in our struggle.”
He said the delegates still had a chance to elect more women as additional members. “Because of the mess you made in the top five, it must be 60 [women], 40 [men],” he said.
A new provincial chair was elected, with Zilindile Vena defeating outgoing chair Yazini Tetyana by 535 votes to 502.
Vena will be deputised by former provincial secretary Mlamli Makhetha, who contested against Nokuthula Mlokoti. Simthembile Madikizela clinched 503 votes to secure the new provincial secretary seat, with Zolile Mqwayiza elected as his deputy.
Madikizela went toe-to-toe with Chumani Matiwane, while Mqwayiza defeated Zikhona Njoli.
Thembinkosi Apleni will take the helm as provincial treasurer after defeating Amandla Madaka.
Party deputy president Floyd Shivambu said: “You as delegates have thus far produced an all-male top five.
“It’s one of the things that, of course, will be dealt with in terms of the constitution of the ultimate composition of the provincial command team of the EFF.”