EFF land rally fires up supporters in George

FOR many of the EFF supporters who gathered in George, Western Cape on Friday for a land expropriation rally led by leader Julius Malema, property ownership was a “step towards a better life”.

Thousands of supporters, from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay, gathered at the Thembalethu Stadium to listen to Malema speak on land expropriation without compensation following a march through the streets of George on Thursday to demand, among others, better health care for the poor.

Malema used the platform to say expropriation was a key factor in “restoring the dignity of Africans”.

“We need change so that our children can have a better future. We need jobs and better education and we believe that having land would be a step towards obtaining this,” one supporter, Johnson Dyan, said.

Malema shared Dyan’s sentiments, adding that with land ownership came respect. “No one respects a hobo on the street, whether he is black or white, and the reason for that is because he does not own land.”

Supporter Thomas Lebenya said along the Garden Route language still played a major role in having access to opportunities. “Here, if you don’t speak Afrikaans, you won’t get a job. We want equal opportunities for all, it doesn’t matter what language you speak. If we all work together, we can be an incredible country.”

Malema also used the opportunity to say the EFF was not calling for “the killing of whites”. “That is a lie. People are mistaken, there is no white genocide, there is a demand for land.”

Malema said he wanted April 6 to be known as “land day” and believed it should be celebrated by all so that “our children may know the history of South Africa”. He said land ownership should reflect the demographics of the country. – Garden Route Media