The Democratic Alliance‘s (DA) decision to publicly declare the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as its number one enemy means that the red berets are “doing something right” to upset racists in South Africa.
That’s according to EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini, who says the party is pleased that the DA views them as their political enemy.
“We are happy when racists declare you as their number enemy. You must know that you’re doing something right and we are very happy about that,” said Dlamini on Monday evening in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
DA federal congress
Dlamini’s comments come after newly re-elected DA leader John Steenhuisen announced at the party’s federal congress at the weekend that the DA would fight back against the EFF at every turn ahead of the 2024 general elections.
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And with the African National Congress (ANC) widely predicted to lose its parliamentary majority, Steenhuisen announced that the DA would form a pre-election “moonshot pact” with like-minded political parties and civil society organisations.
He said the formal agreement would be aimed at defeating what he called a “doomsday coalition” government between the ANC and EFF.
‘Fighters must press hard’
Dlamini poured cold water on the DA’s plans and accused the party of being led by racists.
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He called on all EFF members and supporters to “press hard” and confront racists wherever they meet them.
“We are saying to all the fighters – whether you meet them on the shop floor, farms or the streets – everywhere they meet racists they must press hard because we are getting closer to making sure that we remove racism in this country.
“The DA represents racists [and] it’s who they are from their own policies and everything… they went to their conference only to come out with no policy direction except to fight the EFF; the only organisation that stands firm against racism,” he said.
‘Let them bring it on’
If the DA did not view the EFF as its number one political enemy, Dlamini said that would mean that the EFF would have “sold out” South Africans at the altar of racists like the ANC.
“Let them bring it on [and] it means the commander-in-chief [Julius Malema] is leading us in the right direction.
“If they were happy with us, then we would know that we are going to sell out the people of South Africa like those that are pretending to be leading this country on behalf of racists as they continue to do.”
Dlamini claimed that the EFF would topple the DA as the country’s official opposition party after next year’s polls, adding that the DA was targeting the red berets because of this.
“We’re going to press hard [and] we’re not going to retreat. Whatever the DA decided at that conference, we’re going to take them head-on”.
He added: “They [DA] continue to insult us at every corner they exist [and] unprovoked. We wake up in the morning and a DA leader is just talking nonsense about the EFF. So, we really have no time for them.”
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