ANC, DA and EFF have their say at The Gathering
It is all gloves off leading up to the municipal elections on 3 August, with political parties taking shots at each other during today's The Gathering held in Midrand.
Representatives of the ANC, EFF and the DA addressed the audience on Friday morning - all of them boasting about how their parties will be the best to lead municipalities across the country.
The ANC's Zweli Mkhize said he was optimistic about South Africa's economy.
"The resilience of the South African economy and its diversity is a very strong source of strength, because a lot of investors still look up to South Africa as a very important destination for investment, particularly as you want to extend into the rest of the continent," Mkhize said.
The DA's Mmusi Maimane argued his party was the only one who could create jobs and look after the interests of all South Africans.
He also lashed out at opposition parties, saying the ANC is corrupt to the core and the EFF and its policies would destroy our economy.
"If the EFF ever does take power through the barrel of the gun, this is what we can look forward to and I don't think we can look far. We can ask Zimbabweans who have fled Zimbabwe what the prospect of economic policies that are promulgated by the EFF have delivered. I suspect none of us want to see millions who face poverty and hunger," Maimane said.
The EFF's Julius Malema said they were a party for black South Africans, who would take up arms if pushed by the ruling party.
"Zuma is not going to beat me up and I just fold my arms. That's not going to happen. I'm going to fight back. I'm not going to start any violence. The EFF is not a violent organisation," Malema said.