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By Faizel Patel

Senior Digital Journalist


WATCH: ‘SA a headless chicken’, and Ramaphosa to blame – Malema

Malema wasn't the only one who expressed disapproval in Ramaphosa.


Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said South Africa will become a failed state and a “headless chicken” under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Malema said only the red berets can take the country forward.

Ramaphosa the ‘part-time’ president

During the EFF’s KwaZulu-Natal Provincial People’s Assembly in Durban on Sunday, Malema accused Ramaphosa of being “a part-time president”.

The firebrand EFF leader claims Ramaphosa cannot run the country and business at the same time.

“The country has collapsed. We are on autopilot, we don’t know where the pilot is”, he said.

“Those who have the rumours say the pilot is at Phala Phala selling buffalos and ankole, that’s why the plane does not have a pilot”.

Watch: Malema’s address

Malema added: “When you are the president of South Africa, by law, you are not allowed to do any other business except to be a president of South Africa. Why? Because you are a pilot.

“You can’t be a pilot [and] at the same time, in the same plane, be an air hostess and sell Simbas in the plane and leave the plane leaderless because you are busy selling Simbas”.

Ramaphosa to blame for SOE crisis

Malema said Ramaphosa is the one to blame for the dismal state of country’s state-owned enterprises.

“Because we’ve got an absent president, Transnet has collapsed because there’s no one to look after Transnet”, Malema added.

“Prasa has collapsed, SABC is running on autopilot, and the municipalities, all of them without fail, have collapsed.”

SA a ‘headless’ chicken

Malema said no one would give South Africa proper direction except the leadership of the EFF.

“Have you ever seen a headless chicken, what it does? That’s where we are now. This country has become a headless chicken”.

“It has no direction unless the EFF wakes up in KwaZulu-Natal, and we take KwaZulu-Natal, and we take the whole of South Africa and redirect this country to a proper destination.

“If we don’t do that, I can tell you now, South [Africans] will not be living in it,” Malema said.

Motlanthe, Mbeki and Zuma versus Ramaphosa

Meanwhile, the red berets were not the only ones scathing of Ramaphosa and his leadership.

Three former presidents and members of the ANC – Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma – severely criticised Ramaphosa.

They expressed their disapproval of the state of the country and the ANC under Ramaphosa’s leadership.

ALSO READ: Pot and kettle: Jacob Zuma blasted ‘corrupt and treasonous’ Ramaphosa

Ill-discipline from ANC elders

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula said this could not be tolerated.

“They all spoke yesterday, taking a swipe and one directly attacking a sitting president of the ANC”, Mbalula said.

“We will not stand by and watch this act of ill-discipline, especially from elders. There are conventions in the movement,” Mbalula added.

ALSO READ: ‘Your president is corrupt’: Zuma rants about ‘injustice’, Zondo, load shedding and Ramaphosa