‘We won’t join the DA, the DA will join us,’ said Julius Malema early this year. And here we are, with the EFF, DA, and the ANC in some kind of weird love triangle. The EFF is the sexy girl at the party; the ANC is the letchy old man; and the DA is the hunk who hangs around with the wrong crowd. The question on everyone’s lips is ‘Who will the EFF get into bed with?’
I think a stronger relationship between the EFF and the DA would be a good thing for South Africa. And the interested partners agree; Julius Malema announced at the Daily Maverick Gathering in Johannesburg that the EFF is willing to work in some sort of coalition with the DA.
A coalition between the EFF and the DA would be a good thing and the last hope for the ‘Rainbow Nation’ that Nelson Mandela promised us.
It’s a momentous time. For the first time since 1994, the ANC have struggled to retain jurisdiction in JHB, PTA and P.E. Have South Africans had enough of the ANC and its corrupt ways? Do they want to pass the bait to the DA and/or the EFF?
And I think they should. A coalition between the EFF and the DA would be a good thing and the last hope for the ‘Rainbow Nation’ that Nelson Mandela promised us.
I’ll admit the DA and the EFF do not share the same mandate, nor the same ideologies. But on paper both these parties have a vision for a better South Africa. And judging from the election results, South Africans are ready for that change.
But before change can happen, we need to stop seeing the DA as an alternative for the ANC but a party that can help benefit both black and white South Africans. Their relationship wouldn’t be a passionate one but rather a marriage of convenience that will produce both the DA and EFF’s desired results. Yes, the DA is, and does come across as an encampment for white supremacy and racism, but if they get in bed with the EFF, they will have to start serving black people and have no room to excise their racist sentiments. They’ll also have a chance to prove themselves to the country that they can do what they say they can do.
The DA is known to neglect poor parts of the Cape, such as Khayelisha, but that is where the EFF comes in.
If they work together, the ANC will lose the legislative capital, Cape Town, financial capital Johannesburg and the administrate capital Pretoria.
And black South Africans from impoverished backgrounds could benefit from the alliance. The DA can bring about change and improve circumstances in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth (and possibly other regions) as they have already proved in Western Cape, where they govern. The DA is known to neglect poor parts of the Cape, such as Khayelisha, but that is where the EFF comes in. Only they will make sure poor people are catered for.
As much as I am in full support of Malema’s land policy, let us face facts: SA won’t miraculously exist without white people.
The Nkadla affair and other sagas have made the ANC synonymous with corruption. Last week, at a press conference at the IEC results centre, Malema made a claim that new SA recording label, Mabala Noise was headed up by the ANC Youth League treasure general Reggie Nkabinde. He alleged that every artist signed under the label got a payout of at least R5 million. The ANC reportedly spent R1 billion on the elections campaign while the EFF spend under R20 million and the DA around R350 million. I’m sure that billion could have been better spent. Clean water anyone? What about free education?
The EFF will have to learn to acknowledge white people. As much as I am in full support of Malema’s land policy, let us face facts: SA won’t miraculously exist without white people. White people have benefited more than black people have in the past; I have struggled throughout my life to be given the same opportunities as them. But black and white people of this country need to start working together and not against each other.
Hopefully this political marriage won’t end in a quick divorce. Should it even happen.