Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has said that if his party is elected to power in future elections, it will petition the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to abolish the country's apartheid debt.
Mr Malema spoke yesterday in the Midrands, where his party held a town hall rally to rally supporters ahead of the May 29 vote.
EFF leaders said apartheid debt owed by South Africa could be used for the country's social responsibility programmes.
“We currently have about R573 billion in debt, which also includes the apartheid debt, which is being repaid. So if you subtract the apartheid debt from the external debt, it can be used for social responsibility programmes. It's going to save us a lot of money. The first thing we're going to do when we take over is ask the International Court of Justice to declare the apartheid debt null and void, because it's going to kill you. Because you can’t pay people.”
abolish student loans
Mr Malema further said that if his party is elected to power, student debt in higher education institutions will be abolished.
Student loan cancellation in higher education is one of the key commitments in the EFF's election manifesto.
Malema explains more about student loans in the video below.
Responding to criticism
Meanwhile, Mr Malema responded to criticism that people who vote for the party only provide for their own livelihood.
Malema says the comments are motivated by people who just want to criticize him.
“So it goes from the fact that they can't blame me politically to the accusation that I'm doing this to make ends meet. Start finding fault – he doesn't have a degree, woodworking, what the heck. Then bring this and I'll fix it. I'll accept it and fix it. They say you're too fat, and I'll fix it.”
Malema refutes accusations that if someone votes for the EFF in the next election, they will then be funding his life. @sabc news #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/2mDlFIOT4p
— Sibahle Mo 💕❤️🇿🇦 (@SibahleMo) April 20, 2024
Democracy 30 challenges
EFF supporters have also expressed concern about the challenges they have faced in three decades of democracy.
Some shared their hopes for Malema, while others shared concerns about the current state of the country.
“But if the EFF comes to power, all student debt will be erased. I am a student loan victim – UCT (University of Cape Town) is taking me to court. By the time I graduate from UP (University of Pretoria), I may owe them half a million dollars.”
Regarding support for small and medium-sized enterprises, one person said: “SARS and the domestic production lines have been so tough on small and medium-sized businesses in terms of getting as much profit as they can, that even if they were trying to do business, they were left with nothing.”
Another EFF supporter mentioned transportation, saying: “Transportation is as important as water and electricity. We can't run an economy on blinding public transport. So we have to be intentional about improving it.”
Malema talks about President Cyril Ramaphosa's comments last week about a young graduate who said he was unemployed and looking for work. #sabcnews @sabc news pic.twitter.com/6E8hR0uRx6
— Sibahle Mo 💕❤️🇿🇦 (@SibahleMo) April 20, 2024
Report by Sibale Mosa
