Malema's EFF project: A force to reckon with or another stillbirth?

Background
In the last few days there has been a lot of excitement and reportage about the formation of the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] initiated by the former ANC youth league president Julius Malema.  Judging from the tone of Malema's speech at Marikana and Vaal University, Malema views himself as the future president of Africa's economic giant nation. This article attempts to critically analyze Malema and the EFF's political prospects in a nation that is dominated by the Liberation party, the ANC.

EFF ideological foundation
Malema's political ideology seems to be based on a leftist, socialist foundation that fallaciously propagates for the redistribution of national wealth equally amongst the people. However, Malema himself doesn't seem to have an in-depth understanding of the same, or to read the socio-economic and political milieu that informs contemporary political discourse.  Talking of land grabbing and corporate business expropriation is an archaic vocabulary and narrative that only desperate and rejected politicians resort to. The EFF projects itself as a racially charged anarchist party that has no regard of individual rights and protection of the right to private ownership of property. The path that Malema is advocating for is one that only a desperate and pathetic economic and political ignoramus would take. It is a destructive and treacherous path that has seen the demise of many African giant economies. Only desperate and attention seeking political losers choose such a path that brings with it cheap albeit popcorn popularity. Property rights are protected world over except in rogue states in which political leaders seek personal aggrandizement at the expense of the general populace who eventually suffer from such diminished mentality.

Personality clashes
One significant indicator that EFF lacks in policy and political philosophy is in its focus on personalities rather than on substantive issues. It boggles the mind why Malema, against the spirit of Africanism, chooses to ridicule the personality of the sitting president Jacob Zuma. At Vaal University, a group of students at Malema's rally are reported to have sung songs, "ridiculing President Zuma." President Zuma has his own peculiar personality that can never be a photocopy of any other president, real or imagined. He is someone, in my view, who is enjoying his presidency and is taking challenges that come with the job in his stride. Who said that presidents must always wear the George Bush mask of impenetrability? Presidents are human beings and they must portray themselves as such. Their human side is what makes them link with the masses that they lead. Therefore to hinge a political party launch speech on the personality of President Zuma's personality in negation of substantive policy projections is not only misplaced but it casts the EFF as a project motivated not by substantive ideological and economic policies but by personal vendetta. What it means is that when eventually President Zuma's term of office terminates, so will the agenda of the EFP.  Not all the followers of the party share that vendetta and the moment they recognize that they are being used to settle personal scores, the party will crumble like a deck of cards, further exposing its proponent to ridicule and shame.

The delusion of youthful energy
The energy of youth can be sometimes as exciting as it may be misleading. When one is young and is well fed, at times they think they have so much powers that they can single handedly uproot a giant tree. Malema does have a lot of energy but must not be misled by this childish self brain washing. Energy makes sense when it is accompanied by brainwork. Using Marikana as the launch pad for a political party is highly insensitive and irresponsible. Here is a group of mine workers and their families who have been brutalized by the security system. What the Marikana victims need is justice, compensation and not wild philosophies based on fantasy. They need practical solutions. To manipulate these innocent people for political mileage is both insensitive, political naivety and opportunism.  It only works for a little while and naturally fades away like fireworks.  Malema in his present disposition has no wherewithal to solve the Marikana debacle. The opportunism should be seen for what it is √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú a window of opportunity that has presented a heap of dead bodies that Malema hopes to use as a ladder to the lofty office of national presidency.

The racist card
Why would someone sane and with serious ambitions of being a president sing a divisive and violent laden song that has long served its purpose?  The song "shoot the Boer" has had its role and must now be confined to the archives. Malema's supporters for whom he is wholly responsible are reported to have displayed a blood cuddling poster which read, "To be a revolutionary, you have to be inspired by hatred and bloodshed." This is vampirism and predatorship at its worst which cannot and should not be accepted in civilized society. This betrays the contradiction and slyness that belies Malema's party. Preaching violence through the song or sloganeering to innocent mine workers which is collaborated by the party's name which hinges on violence, is not only pathetic but places Malema as a security threat. Not that the Boers are saints, but South Africa must never be trapped in the bubble of history by such xenophobic propaganda as is expiated by Malema and his political clique of clique of malcontents. The EFF approach to politics is not only retrogressive and destructive thinking but also an Achilles heel in the integrity of South Africa and Africa as a whole in the context of globalization and race relations.

Refocusing EFF ideology
There are things that the EFF should be focusing on if they hope to be taken seriously by voters. One burning issue in South Africa is housing. The ANC, especially under the administration of President Jacob Zuma, has been moving in the right direction in this regard. The EFF could do better by advocating for a more robust approach to this crisis, by decentralizing such program to municipalities and provincial governments so that lots more people benefit. They could also be doing advocacy work aimed at encouraging a buy–in from ordinary South Africans for the program so that communities get directly involved. This will move the program forward instead of the current scenario where a few houses are built for presidential commissioning in the glare of cameras mainly for cheap publicity. EFF need to enunciate a clear economic blue print that will catapult the South African economy to great heights. Corruption is also endemic in South Africa both in the private and public sector. The Gupta debacle is a case in point. However, for Malema to zero in on the Gupta case and promise revenge against the family is both misinformed and unwise. The Gupta case is just a tumor that signifies a more established cancer that needs tackling through robust policy frameworks. Malema's targeting of individuals just because they are not indigenous South Africans smacks of racism. These are comments which unsettle markets as investors get jellish about such unbookish, uninformed and militant pronunciations. South Africa needs tolerance and reverse apartheid has no place regardless of who is practicing it. I am sure no one in their right state of mind has the appetite for a confrontation of the magnitude of the pre 1990s. The fact that black South Africans still wallow in poverty can be addressed in policy frameworks, even a modified BEE law, without resorting to warlordism. EFF can hardly achieve any economic mileage as long as their mentality is dominated by short term myopic gains like land grabbing and looting which have proven to be debilitating in their northern neighbor.

Did Malema real have to form a political party?
Malema and his EFF do have a right to exist. They do have a democratic right to express a different political opinion and expression. That is a right and space is enshrined in the constitution of South Africa. It may just be that the timing for the launch of the party, driven by opportunism, desperation, and attention seeking, is not only premature but also ill-founded.  Malema would have been better advised to maintain and nurture the ambition of a party within the context of a pressure group or empowerment group of sorts until enough buy-in has been achieved. My projection is that in the current circumstances, the party might win a few municipal seats in Marikana but its gains will certainly be dwarfed by the pre-existing parties which may bear pressure on it to crumble. Malema has promised his excited followers heaven and if this is not delivered in the shortest possible time, his fortunes will plummet and the EFF will be reduced to a one man briefcase party.

How much sympathy does Malema and the EFF command?
Sympathy and sponsorship are one of the pillars of a political party in the modern era. Besides the Marikanees, Malema has very little popular support in wider South Africa. Sympathy, yes he may have but this hardly translates to votes when it matters. Sympathy must ensue from the fact that the sympathizers share the same   philosophy and worldview with the subject of sympathy. In this case, those who sympathize with Malema may not necessarily share his political doctrine and abrasive approach but mainly do so as they view him as a victim of ANC schisms. To the majority, my view is that Malema is seen as a reckless, misdirected, power hungry, conceited and bloated young man who has no sense of connection to reality both in the historical and contemporary context. I see him drawing support mostly from criminally minded elements who hope to benefit from a chaotic dispensation that is articulated in the EFF political blueprint. The party's analysis of political temperatures is shallow and thus the leader only succeeds to projects himself as a clown worthy enjoying watching, period. One main sponsor and sympathizer that Malema is no longer assured is Zimbabwe's Zanu PF. In the aftermath of a resounding victory over the MDCs, Zanu PF no longer sees South Africa and in particular, President Zuma's administration as a threat to their stranglehold on power in Zimbabwe. The imperative for using Malema as a destabilizing force in South African politics has diminished. Zanu PF itself seems to be shifting from the populist policies of land grabbing that have inspired Malema, leaving him exposed and devoid of a political godfather. Having been stripped of most of his known asserts by the taxman, Malema may soon find himself without the rand to drive his project forward which would result in its collapse. Isolated and dejected, going forward, the ultimate solution for him, if he has to remain relevant politically, would be rejoining the ANC in the post Zuma era. And a lot of his current followers will be left outside, still wallowing in abject poverty!

ANC reaction
The most challenging question is how the ANC which nurtured Malema should react to his ambitious project. ANC is a Goliath compared to Malema's party but my view is that even with the precedent of this biblical narrative, Malema's feet are still too small to fit in David's shoes. In that regard without undue panic, the ANC will likely worry only about the ruble rouser's muddying techniques which however have no chance of causing permanent damage. For all I understand about African politics, snares may already be out to trap Malema into some political or social scandal that could lend him in some prison. This, as already been witnessed in the tax evasion saga that has led him to lose lots of asserts, remains a ball in the ANC's court. Other than the covert maneuvers, Malema's loose tongued utterances make him a potential convict for defamation or even treason. He could find himself having to ward off massive litigations for bringing into disrepute and or publicly ridiculing of his politically capacitated enemies. So the ANC will not be Malema's punch bag. They may not want to dignify his stuntman ship with exaggerated reactions but covertly, surely they will do what any political party would  to thwart Malema's overzealous project. This not least of all will be motivated by Malema's own claim of being backed by some senior shadowy figures within the ANC itself.

Conclusion
Time will tell whether Malema will withstand the heat in the opposition ranks. Granted, he has the energy and advantage of youth. However, looking at what happened to COPE, and the diminishing influence of DA, it seems that the majority of South Africans have no will to ditch the ANC at this juncture despite its glaring failures in addressing the majority's aspirations. The ANC majority supporters have shown in the past that where they may have problems with personalities at leadership level, they are content with leadership renewal within the party without regime change. A mass revolt that would embrace Malema as an alternative is a dream taken too far. I opine that Malema's project is good for the advancement of democracy, for an alternative voice, but this energy could have better helped him if it was released within a larger organization in which he could mature as a responsible politician. Currently he is spoiling his pants politically and because of the ensuing unpleasant smell, everyone around him will soon abandon him and go back to where they belong.  I hope that he will not necessarily have to endure a tragic closure like his namesake, the infamous Julius Caesar. If you ask me, my take on the formation of the EFP is that it signifies another stillbirth in the political landscape of South Africa. I stand to be proved wrong!
An opinion by Bigboy Mthombeni.