03.05.2025
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EFF slams budget, demands jobs at Workers’ Day rally

5 mins



  • EFF leader Julius Malema briefs the media on the suspension of the VAT increase.

3 minutes

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it does not expect meaningful change from the national budget speech later this month. This follows the rejection of the proposed national budget last month, largely due to a suggested Value Added Tax (VAT) increase.

After an outcry from opposition parties, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reversed the VAT hike last week.

Speaking at a Workers’ Day rally in Zinniaville, near Rustenburg in the North West, EFF leader Julius Malema emphasised that addressing unemployment must be a priority.

Rustenburg is a mining town surrounded by some of South Africa’s most profitable mines.

However, Malema noted that despite the province’s mineral wealth, residents still face poor service delivery and economic hardship. 

“The youth of Rustenburg are unemployed. Employ them to go and patch potholes — they will do it with ease and love, because they are the real beneficiaries. Not someone from Limpopo with a tender, who only wants to make money and not do real work. The children of Rustenburg will want to beautify their city and show that Rustenburg is platinum,” Malema says. 

The event was attended by hundreds of EFF supporters, as well as members of the party’s national executive and provincial committee. EFF Secretary-General Marshall Dlamini criticised the ongoing delays in finalising the budget, which is now set to be tabled on the 21st of this month. 

“How do you table the budget three times and keep collapsing? He says he’ll present it on the 21st, but he has no idea what to present. The ANC has reached a ceiling. They have no solutions. They’ve collapsed the country and can’t lead. Even a Grade R child could present a better budget,” says Dlamini. 

Residents who attended the rally echoed their frustration with ongoing unemployment and lack of basic services. 

“As I am speaking, our children are unemployed, some have matric. Our government should have played a better role by employing young people.” 

“Here in Zinniaville, there’s a high rate of unemployment. If you walk around the corner, you’ll see young people loitering in the streets — but we have a municipality.” 

“Let governance be governance and politics be politics. We speak not for the sake of speaking, but based on the conditions we live under.” 

The EFF says the rally was not only a show of political strength but also a message ahead of the upcoming local government elections that the party remains committed to challenging policies they believe fail to serve ordinary South Africans. 

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