EFF celebrates 10 years with ‘festival of the poor’

Thursday marked 10 years since the party was formed in July 2013.

The big birthday rally dubbed the “festival of the poor” will be held at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Thousands of party members from the country’s nine provinces are set to fill the 95 000-capacity stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The party has been praised for changing the political landscape, introducing young people to politics, and changing the face of Parliament since 2014.

The party made it to Parliament with only 25 seats, but its influence outweighed the number of MPs.

But what have the red berets achieved over the past years?

PAY BACK THE MONEY

When the party landed in Parliament in 2014, the first point of order led to the red berets disrupting former president Jacob Zuma’s question and answer session, asking him to pay back the money for the security upgrades in his Nkandla residence.

The action was led by party leader Julius Malema, who disrupted the National Assembly while Zuma was answering questions.

Malema had felt that Zuma’s response to the R246 million spent on security upgrades to his private Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal was inadequate.

The EFF action came after the then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report stated that Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from some of the upgrades at his home and suggested that he pay back some of the money.

The EFF ran with the “pay back the money’ chant, which became their regular act in Parliament during Zuma’s speech.

When Zuma finally paid R7.8 million to the Reserve Bank in 2016, the EFF was praised for its action.

PRAVIN MUST GO

The chanting in Parliament became the new norm for the red berets.

In 2019, the EFF was thrown out of Parliament after refusing to allow Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordan to deliver his department's budget vote.

The red berets refused to allow him to address MPs, branding him a constitutional delinquent following several findings against him by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

The party stormed the podium where Gordhan was standing before security escorted them out.

In 2020, the red berets repeated the act during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address.

 Malema rose on a point of order asking that former president FW de Klerk leave Parliament.

The attention then moved to Gordhan, with EFF members chanting: “Pravin must go! Pravin must go!” for at least 55 minutes.

Although the party continues to be criticised for disrupting Parliament, Malema argues that it is the party's way of protesting - an act which they claim has borne results.

PHALA PHALA

In typical EFF fashion, President Cyril Ramaphosa was not spared from the disruptions.

In June last year, the party disturbed Ramaphosa’s session in Parliament while he was replying to the debate on the Presidency’s budget vote speech.

As the president was about to address the house, EFF MP Sinawo Tambo rose up on a point of order saying Ramaphosa violated his oath of office after a criminal complaint was opened against him by former spy boss Arthur Fraser.

This was in relation to the theft of millions of dollars from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020.

This action continued at his State of the Nation Address in February and other Parliamentary sessions.

Although acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in her final report, the EFF has called on Parliament to establish another inquiry into the matter.

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