'Malema not welcome at Mugabe's Zanu-PF congress'

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema will not be welcome at Zanu-PF's congress in Harare this week.

"We do not recognise the EFF, we only work with the ANC (African National Congress)," Zanu-PF youth secretary for external relations Mpehlabayo Malinga said.

He said Zanu-PF was also not invited to the EFF's conference.

"Zanu-PF is a revolutionary party, and all revolutionary movements of southern Africa operate as one, because they are all sister parties.

"Our revolutionary party that is in South Africa is only the ANC."

He said the party had not been in touch with Malema since he left the ANC.

"Malema used to come and visit - actually he came to visit the President (Robert Mugabe) only once (in 2010) . . . and it happened as a consequence of him being the president of the ANC Youth League," he told City Press in an interview.

"As such, when he left the ANC, that was the last time that he made contact with our party structures."

The EFF is advocating a Zimbabwean system of land reform and nationalisation in South Africa, and it has also expressed admiration for the country's education system.

Malinga said: "Malema talks about the nationalisation of mines, and he talks about land reform, so I won't crucify him for trying to emulate a very successful process that happened in Zimbabwe.

"Any other party is free to copy those policies and want to work with those, but it doesn't mean we are in close working relationships.

"They are merely copying what they see a great president of a great African state, Zimbabwe, has done and implemented, and which has worked very well for the party.

"It doesn't mean if he likes that certain position he is a branch of Zanu-PF. No, he's not," he said.

Malinga was in Johannesburg this week to attend the ANC Youth League's consultative conference, where he delivered a message of support from Zanu-PF.

His reception was lukewarm, although delegates cheered at the mention of Mugabe's name.

Relations between the ANC and Zanu-PF were strained after rumours Mugabe was funding the EFF.

Malema has denied these rumours.

The ANC will be sending three delegates to Zanu-PF's congress, which begins in Harare on Tuesday and where Mugabe is set to be reconfirmed as president.

The head of the ANC's international affairs subcommittee, Obed Bapela, said the party had not yet decided who it would be sending.