The Economic Freedom Fighters on Saturday hosted their KZN Manifesto launch in Kokstad in the open field next to Kokstad Primary School, with party president, Julius Malema gracing the event.
Malema addressed the large crowd saying he could not stay long as he had to attend the Eastern Cape Manifesto launch in Gqeberha: “But it was important that I come here and see the beautiful people of Kokstad.”
He encouraged party supporters to vote with a clear intention: “Fighters, we must make sure that on the 04th of November, we wake up sober. When you go to important appointments, you don’t go drunk. On the 04th of November, it’s a job interview. You are going to decide whether you get a job or not.”
Malema also raised concerns about elderly SASSA beneficiaries having to pay for water and electricity and promised that if they were to take power, this would no longer be the case.
“We want clean water in every yard in Kokstad. We want electricity that is reliable and affordable. For instance, today you see the clouds are threatening to gather, once the clouds gather the electricity disappears. It is very scared of rain; we do not want electricity which is afraid of weather. All elderly beneficiaries of SASSA must not pay for water and electricity,” said Malema during his address.
He added that energy supplier, Eskom, should only be self-sustaining and not profitable and should stop overcharging the poor and charge the rich more. He also stated that children of SASSA beneficiaries should not pay for tertiary education.
“The children must eat at school, and three times, not once…Just on arrival, breakfast, then the Class can start…during break, you eat. When you go home, you take your package, go home.”
He also made statements regarding the last-minute change of venue from the advertised Riverview Stadium to the open field where the launch eventually took place, insinuating that former Greater Kokstad Mayor/ANC KZN Secretary, Bheki Mtolo intervened.
“There is no one that can stop the EFF. Not in KZN, not in Gauteng, not in Limpopo. All over South Africa, no one can stop the EFF, especially Mtolo who stopped us from going to a stadium. Mtolo is a small boy who can’t do anything to the EFF. We are going to Kokstad and arrest all his friends who have been stealing money from Kokstad Municipality. He controls this municipality but his control is coming to an end. We do not care about a stadium. We can have a rally inside a river if we must because we are unstoppable.”
Malema left the rally to attend the launch in Gqeberha and Motherwell later in the afternoon.
- EFF president, Julius Malema during the KZN Manifesto launch in Kokstad on Saturday. Photo: Economic Freedom Fighters.
