EFF leader, Julius Malema, in delivering his keynote address at the party’s 10th anniversary today, touched on a string of ills sweeping through South Africa and promising to bring transformation.
Load shedding, free education, and proper health care were just a few things that Malema spoke about while addressing thousands of supporters gathered at the Soweto stadium.
"Fighters, me and you are going to defeat load shedding. Only the EFF can end load shedding, “We don't want load shedding in South Africa. We want reliable electricity in South Africa.” Malema made this address as the country wobbles back and forth with power outages that have provoked protests and frustrations in the past few months.
As a result of the impact of load shedding, many business owners were forced to close their doors.
Malema, brimming with pride at the party’s progress, expressed gratitude to all the consistent support shown in the past 10 years.
"While Cuba guided the idea of our organisation, Marikana gave birth to this revolutionary movement. Fellow fighters and soldiers of the revolution, we've arrived where the doomsayers never thought we would. They said we would never achieve 1% of the vote. They said our organisation was formed out of anger and we would never last.”
EFF’s Floyd Shivambu also spoke fondly about the growth of the party and Malema, further pointing out that they appreciated his massive contribution.
He also hailed Malema for clear and decisive leadership: “We want to say thank you to the commander in chief and president of the EFF for having led us until this far, from 2013 with decisiveness.
“We thank you for having confronted enemy forces. Many people had counted you out. You have sharpened all of us. When we met me and you, you were 27 years old when we started together and I was 25 years. Throughout the 15 years we have learnt a lot from you. This organisation and all of us who is around you would not be here if it was not because of your massive contribution,” said Shivambu.