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EFF to run its election campaign using a bank loan
One of the party's policy positions is that banks must be nationalised, possibly without compensation, but for now it's promising to repay its debt.
A cheering crowd gathered at Ghandi Square in Johannesburg on 26 September 2021 for the launch of the EFF election manifesto. Photo: Twitter/@EFFSouthAfrica
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will run its election campaign on credit, in hopes that it will be able to repay the debt at a later stage.
This was revealed by party leader Julius Malema on Monday when it unveiled its billboard at OR Tambo Airport a day after launching its election manifesto and new headquarters in Johannesburg..
Malema was quizzed by journalists on how much the party was going to spend on the campaign trail.
“It’s a couple of millions, which we do not have,” said Malema.
Although he did not reveal much around the party’s budget for the elections, he said the party was in the process of applying for a bank loan to cover some of the costs.
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He said that budget constraints aside, the party had strong ideas on how it would run a successful campaign.
“It’s a very ambitious plan, and it’s a very costly plan, but we hope to arrive there.
“We do not have the money, and we have ideas and the money should not stop us … we are engaging with service providers to provide us some credit so that we can pay over a period of time because we are not in the immediate (position) to have the money, but we know that we will be able to service them.
“We are also applying for a loan from the bank so that we can run a successful campaign.”
Malema refused to give the amount of the loan the party was applying for.
“It is not advisable to tell your enemies how much you have, because they will outsmart you. So they must just know that you are in the race.”
He said that all would be done within the confines of the law.
“Anyone who makes contributions to the EFF, if they do … finally, we will make declarations.
“Several institutions have said to us we will make donations to all parties in a proportional manner; we are still waiting and when that is done we will declare to the IEC [Independent Electoral Commission].”
Earlier this month the IEC revealed that the ANC, DA and Action SA were the only parties in South Africa to make declarations in line with the Political Party Funding Act, with the EFF not counted in the list.
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However, Malema defended his party and said at the time that there was nothing to declare.
“There is nothing to declare; they are called donations. The EFF survived through parliament money, through IEC money and party levies. Party levies are what our public representatives contribute every month and that’s what makes the EFF survive,” said Malema.
“There is nothing that gets into EFF coffers which is more than R100,000. We are going to be audited, and the auditor and financial statements will be sent to the IEC so they satisfy themselves,” explained Malema.
