Malema labels Zuma as a thief

THE leader of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, labelled president Jacob Zuma a “thief” who should not be a role model.

“Zuma must never be your role model. He is a thief. In Zuma we see a self-serving leader,” Malema said. He was addressing students at the University of Limpopo’s Turfloop campus in Mankweng recently.

Malema also accused Zuma of killing the ANC Youth League. “There used to be an organisation called the ANC Youth League but it was killed by Jacob Zuma. He killed the youth league of Peter Mokaba and Nelson Mandela because he knew the youth league was going to bring about change,” he said.

Malema was at the university to galvanise support for the EFF. He said people were threatened by the EFF’s existence, saying it was for this reason his party had already held several of its gatherings in open fields after they were denied halls and other venues.

Malema told students that his party was opposed to the Youth Wage Subsidy. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has been calling for government to pay this subsidy to companies as an incentive for them to employ young people with the aim of alleviating unemployment.

Malema said the payment of such a subsidy would cause companies to get rid of older employees to reduce their wage bill. “When a company employs the youth, the government gives that company money to pay those young people. If I employ 10 young people, government pays them, they produce for me and I make a profit. What is the need to employ older workers?”

Malema also accused members of the ANC and its alliance partners of making it their mission to deny the right of the EFF to exist, associate and to speak freely.

“This unfortunate behaviour has come without any condemnation from their mother or national bodies. We are left with no choice but to interpret (this silence) as an approval of their lawless acts,” he said.