Malema: EFF gunning for abandoned land in Sandton, Pretoria & Rustenburg
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has renewed its calls for dilapidated buildings in city centre's to be refurbished and used to bring the working class closer to employment and resources including schools and hospitals.
Land, free education, and accelerated service delivery are among the party's headlining commitments in their manifesto ahead of the local government elections.
EFF leader Julius Malema took to the election campaign trail on Friday in the North West where he told supporters in Rustenburg that no territory should be reserved for the elite.
This includes Sandton, Pretoria and Rustenburg.
"When I told them we are going to build RDP houses in Sandton, they told me I'm crazy.
"I'm not crazy because in Sandton there are already RDP houses. In each house where there are staff quarters, that is an RDP house behind the house of the madam. Already those people are there, they stay there in Sandton - the only difference is that they stay in a madam's yard. I want to take them out of the madam's yard and give them their own yard next to where the madam is," he told a cheering crowd.
Malema's land debates have often come under sharp criticism.
ALSO READ: Malema promises land, free basic services at EFF-run municipalities
He believes the country's spatial planning continues to be a hurdle for impoverished communities who battle with access to resources.
"The people who work in Sandton, they must stay next to where they work. There are a lot of buildings in Sandton, like here in Rustenburg. We can take lot of abandoned buildings in Rustenburg, convert them to proper settlements and give to you to be closer to where the schools are," he added.
"We are going closer to town, that's where we want to go.
"I don't want people who say, 'There is land this way'. There must be land that way and if there is no land that way, let's check what is not working there, we demolish it and create a land and settle our people next to where the resources are," Malema added.
The party, formed in 2013, is contesting local government elections for the second time.
