EFF leader Julius Malema compared President Cyril Ramaphosa to drug lord Pablo Escobar. Malema made the comparison while addressing EFF supporters in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, 22 August. He criticised Ramaphosa over unemployment, poverty and alleged hidden cash.
Malema spoke during the EFF’s election mobilisation campaign in KwaZulu-Natal. His remarks came after South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 33.6%. Stats SA recorded 8.5 million unemployed people during the second quarter.
Malema said government was diverting attention from the real causes of unemployment. He accused authorities of blaming Zimbabweans for South Africans’ lack of jobs.
“They said Zimbabweans are the problem. What happened? Just yesterday they announced that unemployment has increased,” Malema said. “Yet Zimbabweans have gone.”
He said the latest figures showed immigration was not the main unemployment problem. Malema blamed factory closures, industrial decline and insufficient job creation instead.
“The real problem is that factories are closing, industry is collapsing,” Malema said. He also criticised the African National Congress-led government and the Government of National Unity.
“There is no job being created by the ANC government, by the GNU,” he said. “There can never be jobs if South Africa is not turned into a construction site.”
Malema then attacked Ramaphosa over what he described as insufficient development. He questioned when South Africans last saw the president opening major projects.
“When was the last time did you see Cyril Ramaphosa cutting a ribbon?” Malema asked. He argued that presidents should regularly open roads, schools, hospitals and clinics.
Malema then shifted his attack towards the Phala Phala cash scandal. He claimed Ramaphosa had money while poor children were suffering from poverty.
“Children are dying of hunger in the Eastern Cape,” Malema said. He contrasted that situation with the allegations surrounding Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala case.
Malema then invoked Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar while describing hidden cash.
“There is a guy who was a criminal, Pablo Escobar,” Malema said. “He was stealing money, he put money everywhere.”
Malema said Escobar eventually had to hide cash in different locations. He then used that comparison to attack Ramaphosa over money allegedly hidden inside furniture.
“When you put money in the sofas, it means all the rooms are full,” Malema said. He claimed money would first have filled bedrooms before reaching sofas and other rooms.
Malema also urged young EFF supporters to develop skills and seek opportunities. He said the EFF’s youth structures included graduates who remained unemployed.
“Go to the youth command and find a skill,” Malema told supporters. He said unemployment remained one of South Africa’s most serious economic challenges.