How Malema plans to change our towns

EFF leader Julius Malema wants voters to give the party a chance for five years only. If it failed to deliver, “You can kick us out,” he said.

A detailed picture of an EFF municipality was presented to more than 40 000 supporters at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto yesterday.

Malema described how an EFF-run municipality would operate and how an EFF councillor would have to act.

The EFF manifesto is one of the most detailed to be launched by a political party in South Africa in the run-up to the local government elections — with the highest number of supporters in attendance.

The EFF’s manifesto promises, much like those of the ANC and DA, to focus on corruption, jobs and delivery of quality services. But the specifics set it apart.

Malema said: “We don’t go around dishing out promises. Revolutionaries make commitments.”

The party described its manifesto as “cogent, practical and workable”.

“Everything we say, we will do it. We don’t play with our people and their emotions,” Malema said.

The manifesto contains promises to dramatically change the work of local government, introduce a six-day service week, procure 50% of basic goods from local communities and abolish the use of consultants.

Malema said the EFF would put an end to cadre deployment in municipalities. “We want the right man for the right job. We want the right woman for the right job . . . not someone who is politically connected.”

The EFF promised to destroy all apartheid symbols and statues and rename all streets that had apartheid names.

It would also nationalise land to house poor people.