By: Lizeka Tandwa
Former president Nelson Mandela made a mistake by prioritising RDP houses, EFF leader Julius Malema said during a rally at Durban University of Technology on Tuesday.
Malema was addressing a crowd of student supporters during the party’s election campaign trail in KwaZulu-Natal.
Emphasising the need for free decolonised education, Malema said Mandela should have prioritised education instead of the housing reconstruction and development programme (RDP).
“The first priority should have been free education. If we had given free education in 1994, it means we would not have a need for 1 million RDP houses. People would have quality jobs… They can build houses for themselves,” he said.
He added that South Africa had the financial capability to fund free education rather than a bloated Cabinet. Under the EFF government, the country would have no use for deputy ministers, he said.
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“We must create ministries that are necessary and not create ministries because we are dispensing patronage. Once you reduce the ministry, once you cancel deputy ministers, all of that money must go and finance education.”
After xenophobia comes tribalism
Malema then lambasted the KZN public for recent xenophobic attacks, adding that the colonisers were dividing Africans.
He cautioned South Africans against xenophobia, adding that once the country had disposed of all other African nationals, the nation would degenerate to tribal warfare much like Rwanda.
“When you are done with Zimbabweans, Mozambique, you are going to beat up Vendas, Tsongas… You are going to resort to tribalism. Once you resort to tribalism, you will end up like Rwanda. After xenophobia, what follows is tribalism. Stop it now.”
He also told students that under EFF rule, student accommodation would be conducive for human rights.
“White, Indian and African student accommodation must be the same, he said.
“If there is no hot water there must be no hot water even in residences where there are predominantly white [people]… Indians were oppressed but not as much as Africans. We must do away with apartheid mentality that creates the impression they are better than blacks. If they accept they are blacks, We want to see them in the picket lines. They can’t be black when they want to qualify for BEE points… It can’t be unity trough lip service,” he said.
– News24
