Johnathan Paoli
Former MKMVA spokesperson and African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta) leader Carl Niehaus has joined the EFF.
Speaking during a media briefing at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on Thursday, Niehaus confirmed that Areta would not register to contest the upcoming 2024 general elections.
“We will join the EFF also in our capacity as individual members starting with me as I am standing here today,” he announced.
Niehaus registered Areta after he was expelled from the ANC in 2022, alongside Nkosentsha Shezi in April this year, as a platform to realise the ideals of radical economic transformation.
It has been reported that he will be taking up a leadership position within the EFF structures as his political party has ceased to operate on its own.
EFF regional leader in Johannesburg, Spetlele Raseruthe, said the move was meant to consolidate all the left-leaning forces.
“We welcome comrade Niehaus so we can defeat the common enemy which everyone is talking about,” Raseruthe said.
Niehaus said this party had made the forging of a united progressive left front to save the country – a pillar of its work since it was formed in late February this year.
“This announcement is a significant step in achieving that objective, and reshaping the South African political landscape in order to replace the neo-liberal right-wing destruction of our country with a united progressive government dedicated to the implementation of radical transformation,” Niehaus said.
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