Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema has warned they are not desperate to get into a coalition deal with any party at the expense of their principles.
He said compromising their principles for getting into a coalition would be the death knell for the EFF.
He said they were not desperate to be in power.
If there were no coalition partners they would serve in opposition benches in the councils.
Malema also questioned issues raised by people and parties that his party was tabling national issues on municipal elections.
The EFF has listed a number of demands to get into bed with any party and they include the expropriation of land without compensation, the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank and the establishment of the Post Bank.
But on Saturday, during the handover ceremony of a Mercedes Benz worth R1.8 million to AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo at Ekululenkweni residence in Mthatha, Malema said they will not back down on their demands.
[IN PICTURES 📸]
CIC @Julius_S_Malema and DP @FloydShivambu unwrapping the EFF gift to His Majesty King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
DP handed the keys to the appreciative hands of His Majesty.#EFFWelcomesKingDalindyebo pic.twitter.com/GnuJGjuQjb
“Compromising the fundamental principles that makes the EFF what it is will be the death of the EFF,” said Malema, adding that people were saying a lot of things about their demands.
“They are saying why do you bring national issues on coalitions because these are national issues, what are national leaders doing in coalitions because you are national leaders? If these national leaders had nothing to do with coalitions then let’s leave it to local leaders to discuss it. The fact that national leaders can meet, it means they must deal with national issues,” he said.
He said the issue of the cancellation of the student debt was a local issue because if it was scrapped, that money would be used to pay for municipal services.
They were not desperate to get into a coalition with any party. They were not desperate for power.
If there was no deal on the table they would walk away and work as opposition councillors in the municipalities.
“There is no way that we are going to get into a disparate relationship with any political party just for power. We will rather be outside and be an opposition. No EFF councillor is going to stand out and collapse the municipality that ‘no this municipality, they don’t have 50% plus one, we are not going to attend a municipality (meeting) so that they don’t constitute a council’. That will be acting against the will of the people,” said Malema.
He said the voters have spoken and their votes must be respected.
He said the number of councillors they have is a result of an election.
Malema called on his councillors to go and argue issues in councils and not be involved in attempts to collapse meetings.
POLITICAL BUREAU