File photo: Members of the Abahlari Base Myondoro Shack Dwellers Movement protesting against the alleged theft of hundreds of millions of KwaZulu-Natal COVID-19 funds in Durban on October 19, 2020. (Photo by Darren Stewart) /Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Abahlari Base Myondoro, a mass movement organizing residents of informal settlements, has decided to support the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the May 29 national and state elections.
The decision comes as Abahlari has more than 120,000 registered members in the Durban region alone and has expanded its reach to include informal settlements and farms around KwaZulu-Natal since its inception in 2005. This will be a boost for Beret.
The movement initially boycotted the election, but backed the Democratic Alliance in 2014, hoping this would benefit its members living in shacks in the city.
In national and local opinion polls in 2019, it supported the Socialist Workers' Revolutionary Party (SWRP), but changed its support this time after a consultation process among party members.
Mr Abahlali also invited political parties such as the EFF, Rise Mzansi and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) to present their manifestos at last month's General Assembly, after which Julius Malema's support for the party was finalized. .
Abahlari founder and president Subu Zikode announced his decision to support the EFF at a Freedom Day rally in Durban over the weekend, saying residents of informal settlements were “loaning” their votes to the party. “There is,” he said.
Mr Zikode said this was “not a permanent arrangement” and the decision would be reviewed ahead of the 2026 local government polls, meaning Abahlari's members would automatically vote for the EFF in future elections. “There are no guarantees,” he said.
Abahlari Secretary-General Thapelo Mohapi said: email and guardian It said the decision was taken after a “very extensive” consultation process at branch level and above, which reviewed previous “tactical decisions” to boycott the election and later support the DA and SWRP.
Mohapi said the decision was based on this and an assessment of what progress had been made over the past 30 years in meeting the needs of people living in South Africa's dugouts.
“Thirty years later, we are still being burned to death for living in barracks. Thirty years after democracy began, we are still being denied basic services guaranteed by the Constitution. It continues,” he said.
The EFF's manifesto addressed many of the 20 demands that Abahlari laid out in its founding document, including land, housing, education and health, and these also influenced the decisions of Abahlari members.
Mr Mohapi said Mr Abahlali believed that supporting the EFF, with which he was ideologically aligned, would help oust the ruling party.
“What we actually want is to remove the ANC from power,” he said. “We are living like pigs. We are tired of the ANC.”
In Durban, where ANC leaders identify Abahlali as a “third force”, many of the movement's leaders and members have been assassinated in ongoing conflicts in Cato Manor, Kennedy Road and Kwandengezi.
Last year, ANC member Kaya Ngubane was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Abahlari e-Kanana leader Ayanda Ngira.
Mr Mohapi said the ANC had failed to address the problems of the poor and that the sacrifices of ANC leaders such as Oliver Tambo and Chris Hani were part of state capture and the provision of services “for themselves and their own interests”. He said he had been “betrayed” by the misappropriation of millions of rands. Their family.”
He said Abahlari members were “totally opposed” to corruption, which was why they chose not to support Jacob Zuma's Umkhonto Wisizwe party.
He said the decision to support the EFF was “not imposed by the leadership” but “was taken by the people on the ground”.
EFF KwaZulu-Natal president Mongezi Twala welcomed the development, saying the two parties were “not that far apart” ideologically on many issues, as both sides supported pro-poor policies.
Twala said the EFF's stance on land and tackling corruption seemed to resonate with Abahlari members, as did its stance on housing and Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people.
“Their members are the ones who voted that we have to vote for the EFF. They supported the DA before, but as soon as the DA came to power, their 20-point We have not been able to address the demands. If you look at the EFF's policies, you can see that the demands of Abahlali Basemjondoro are there,” Twala said.
“We're not that far apart.”
Mr Twala said Mr Abahlali had “numbers” in both cities and farms in the state.
“There are more than 600 informal settlements in eThekwini alone. There are informal settlements in every corner of this state. We are humbled by this and appreciate what Abahlali Basemjondro has given us. I have no intention of betraying the support we have,” Twala said.
