By: Sello Theletsane
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has been accused of hijacking a Patriotic Alliance campaign to ensure South Africans get preference in employment.
This comes after the party went to restaurants on Wednesday to check the ratio of foreign and local employees.
“We have gone to three restaurants, and we are well satisfied that they are adhering to what we are looking for. Kream has an almost 50/50 employment ratio when it comes to foreign nationals and locals, while the other restaurants, Ponta and Doppio Zero, have got a majority of their employees being South Africans. We want to emphasise to the restaurant’s owners that no one should stop employing Zimbabweans here; we want them to work here because this is their home. There should be no apology about hiring Zimbabweans or any other African brother or sister. In doing so, businesses must also remain conscious that there are locals who must be given a preference,” he said.
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His stunt was, however, not appreciated by everyone. Hlathi Madela said the EFF should not try to hijack a Patriotic Alliance programme as Malema and his members failed to act back in 2014 when he approached them about the same matter.
He said the party appears to be confused about the issue and flip-flops.
“He is saying Zimbabweans must continue being employed while our children still remain unemployed in their country. He must leave this to the Patriotic Alliance,” he said.
According to Madela, in 2014, he was contracted by a company working for Transnet, which had 400 employees, but only 4 were black South Africans and over 300 foreign nationals.
He added that the company, known to Africa News Global, brought foreign nationals from India and Bangladesh to do minimalist jobs such as timesheet recording.
“The company would rent houses for such people at R22 000 per month and throw in a rental car on top of their exorbitant salaries. I objected to the practice and even complaint to Transnet to no avail. I took the issue to ANC’s Luthuli House in the office of Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe, but nothing was done,” he said.
Having not been assisted by the ruling party, which is supposed to ensure government entities work, Madela went to the political party he voted for in the 2014 elections, the EFF. He said he was told that the party takes such cases and will put him in touch with a lawyer, but more than six years later, Malema and his party have failed to do anything with the information.
“Now I’m seeing Malema speaking about foreign nationals and employment because the Patriotic Alliance has been pushing the agenda of putting South Africans first. Malema must stay out of this because he failed to address this matter of foreign nationals when it was brought to his office. I can not sit around and watch him try to disrupt an important process in our country,” Madela said.
Madela believes that the only organisation that can adequately address the challenges of unemployment and preference given to foreign nationals for basic jobs is the Patriotic Alliance.
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The party has been very vocal about the issue of foreign nationals in the country. During its Manifesto launch ahead of the local government elections in 2021, party president Gayton McKenzie told the thousands gathered at the sports field that all illegal foreigners would be deported should the PA be in power.
He said foreigners should come with a skill that South Africans don’t have, and South Africans should perform all other jobs that don’t require expertise. McKenzie further added that foreign nationals couldn’t come to South Africa to be nurses, teachers, or even work in farms and restaurants or farms when there are thousands of unemployed youths in the country.
Madela said he believed the Patriotic Alliance was the answer to the problems of millions of South Africans getting employment.
“My kids just matriculated, and they must have opportunities. They can’t be sidelined in their country while preference is given to foreign nationals. I don’t believe the EFF and Malema have anything to offer to this discourse. Malema will just muddy the water, and he must just let the Patriotic Alliance continue with its campaign. The party failed to address the matter back then, and now I wonder how many other issues it has swept under the carpet. It can’t be right for the EFF to hijack this matter at this particular point in time when they failed to act back in 2014,” Madela said.
McKenzie on Wednesday said the organisation was not in competition with anyone and was prepared to work with any organisation that aims to restore the dignity of South Africans while ensuring that foreign nationals don’t get preference over locals.
“The Patriotic Alliance is not in competition with anyone. Firstly, we respect Patriots from #PutSouthAficansFirst who have kept this fight alive. Secondly, we feel very excited about different political parties and community formations joining the fight against illegal immigration. Let’s all work towards building our country and ensuring that our people benefit from their economy,” he said.
