Marshall Dlamini holds a grudge. Photo: Phil Magakoe/Getty Images
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Julius Malema has endorsed the party's secretary-general, Marshall Dlamini, as his candidate for KwaZulu-Natal premier.
Malema made the remarks while addressing the party's final rally ahead of the highly anticipated elections.
He said the party's deputy leader, Floyd Shivambu, should become finance minister.
The EFF leader addressed young people at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday in a final appeal to South Africans to vote for the party.
The EFF is holding its final rally in Limpopo province where the party hopes to retain its official opposition status and attract more votes.
He told supporters at a rally in a 46,000-seat stadium that he would deliver a more stable South Africa, free from power outages, unemployment and crime.
Malema said he would bring in capable leaders from other parties who could help deliver a more sustainable economy.
The party leader, who has been crisscrossing the country over the past few weeks, detailed some of the issues facing the country's nine states, including access to clean drinking water, housing, inequality and poverty.
Malema said the EFF's campaign was going well because the party's leaders and volunteers spoke in unison.
“None of our leaders wanted to outdo each other,” he said, adding that the party's guiding principle during the elections was “many voices, one message.”
The EFF leader said he promised to fight crime and corrupt politicians if he came to power.
He said if elected provincial president, investigating President Cyril Ramaphosa and the infamous Parapara scandal would be part of his mandate.
“I pledge that if I become president, I will not engage in any form of wrongdoing or corruption,” he said.
President Malema said he would protect the country's natural resources.
The EFF was unable to fill the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo and the move to hold a final rally in a stadium in Malema's home town was seen as a strategic move to position the party in its favour ahead of the elections.
He said under his administration no government employee's salary would fall below R10,000, adding that government employees, including those the party will insource, would be entitled to medical assistance, pension funds and holiday entitlements.
The party claims it is seeking one million votes in Gauteng and a further one million in KwaZulu-Natal to reach its target.
This goal was threatened when former president Jacob Zuma endorsed the Umkhonto weSizwe party in December. Mr Zuma's popularity in KwaZulu-Natal poses a threat to the ANC, EFF and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the province.
The EFF was hoping to win enough votes to give the party an edge in forming a coalition government, something the DA has also said it is not interested in doing with the EFF, which sees the party as its primary enemy.
Urging the EFF to win votes in the May 29 elections, Malema said he had demonstrated over the years that he was “not a traitor”, adding that he had no history of betraying those who were loyal to him.
He added that if his party wins a majority, it will hold a presidential inauguration on June 16 in honour of the 1976 generation.