LESEGO SECHABA MOGOTSI | EFF has a long way to go to positioning itself as a trusted alternative

For several weeks I have been threatening to write an unsolicited article on what appears to be Julius Malema’s steady rise to power, and the electoral support EFF continues to enjoy within black communities. Just to recap, the EFF electoral support at national level has shown growth from 0% to 6.35% in 2014 and to 10.79% in the last national and provincial elections in 2019.

In the past two local government elections in 2016 and 2021, the EFF has continued to show a rise in electoral support to 8.31% and 10.54% respectively. It is this EFF upward electoral support trajectory, more especially within the black communities, that makes me envious of the support Julius Malema and the EFF command.

When I shared my intention, one comrade bemoaned the fact that the article will be based on the EFF electoral support growth rather than the dwindling Azapo electoral support, which happens to be my political home.  My response was quite short, simple, and straightforward – “My Tower, only if Azapo had similar electoral support…”.

Let me get back to the reasons why I envy Malema and by extension the EFF growing electoral support across the land. In the last national and provincial elections in 2019 which can be used as a barometer to test a political party's ability to take over the Union Buildings and become a governing party, the EFF obtained 1.8-million votes and this represented 10.79% of the eligible voters in SA. Though the EFF and Julius Malema’s electoral and personal support does not meet the required threshold to take over the country, except through coalition governments and/or agreements, it is certainly a good foundation.

Is it possible for all of us to imagine the direct impact Malema and the EFF can make if they use their electoral support consistently in a positive direction, and if they redirect their energies to the projects/programmes that seek to fundamentally change the lives of black communities, such as focusing on the much-neglected psychological liberation, crime prevention, restoration of black people’s dignity, advancing black economic control, ownership, and so on.

However, as things stand, the strategies and tactics employed by the EFF in various municipal councils, provincial legislatures, and parliament are not good enough for the electorate to entrust them with an exclusive mandate to take over the Union Buildings without governing partners. This is not being anti-black or antirevolutionary as some people would say; the EFF still has a long way to go to position itself as the alternative and trusted government in waiting. The electoral support and successes of the DA and ActionSA in the local government elections in 2021 can be attributed to some of the questionable EFF politics.

Besides the introduction of the red berets, overalls and gumboots in municipal councils, provincial legislatures, and parliament, the EFF has not been able to successfully demonstrate to the majority of the electorate that it can be exclusively trusted with judicial, legislative, and executive power. Perhaps, I am being too harsh and unfair on a nine-year-old political party. However, it would at least be pleased to know there is someone who envies its electoral support out there; even though he does not agree with their general politics.

There is also a general view in some quarters since the formation of the EFF, that Malema has continued to treat it as his personal project, and he tends to focus too much on the ANC factional battles and politics. As we approach 2023 and all-important national and provincial elections in May 2024, the biggest question is whether Malema and the EFF will change their strategies and tactics in time, or will they stick to their usual ways and put their hopes on taking control of the Union Buildings through the backdoor – coalition governments and/or agreements?

In some media reports, some voters during interviews have already indicated that they have lost hope in the municipal councils, provincial legislatures, and parliament; and they can’t wait for the term of the current administrations to expire. It is also worrying that some of these voters are threatening to boycott any future elections as they see elections as a mere replacement of another uncaring and self-serving group of public representatives with another group for the next five years.

If Malema, the EFF and their supporters do not appreciate the electoral support they have in black communities and the growth thereof, there are political parties such as Azapo that would surely appreciate such electoral support for the greater benefit of humanity and for us to achieve what Steve Biko envisaged, “... be in a position to bestow on SA the greatest possible gift – a more human face."