Malema: Ramaphosa turned his back on his constitutional oath

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has condemned President Cyril Ramaphosa’s approach to the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa as a failure. 

On Thursday, Malema addressed the public via a digital briefing, noting government’s shortcomings in dealing with the pandemic and commenting on South Africa’s state of readiness as the country relaxes to Level 3 lockdown.

Building on an earlier statement, which followed Ramaphosa’s proclamation of a nationwide move to Level 3 lockdown, Malema argued that the president had withdrawn from battle and, in doing so, had failed the people of South Africa.

Malema: South Africa should not move to Level 3 lockdown

Noting the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) assertions that South Africa ‘was not ready’ for a lightened lockdown, coupled with Ramaphosa’s speech on individual responsibility, Malema said:

“By telling the whole country that ‘it is now in your hands’; Ramaphosa was rendering his resignation as captain of the ship, the number one citizen and commander in Chief.

He turned his back on his constitutional oath to protect human rights, chief amongst which is the right to life.”

Malema added that despite the lockdown’s fundamental intention — which was to buy the country’s healthcare system enough time to prepare for the inevitable peak of infection — government had failed to improve the efficiency of state hospitals and clinics. The EFF leader added that many black South Africans would die because of dysfunctional healthcare services and not due to immune systems which were any more compromised than those of white compatriots.

EFF says social relief efforts good but not good enough

The firebrand leader was also hypercritical of government’s social relief measures. According to Malema, more could be done by government and the private sector to facilitate a sustainable extension of the lockdown. Malema pointed to the shortcomings of government’s R500 billion financial relief scheme and the South African Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) failures.

Furthermore, Malema added that, with unemployment rates expected to breach 50% and coronavirus-related retrenchments set to last for months to come, private banks should be forced to provide relief. The EFF leader explained:

“We call for a moratorium of 12 months on the house and car repossessions by private banks because many people are going to lose their jobs and should not be condemned to absolute poverty and homelessness because of a pandemic that they did not create.

Regulations that prevent evictions during lockdown must be extended for a further 12 months. We call on municipalities to abide by the law and regulations, and not act as if they are above the law by conducting illegal evictions.”

Malema: Schools not ready to reopen

During his address, Malema argued against the reopening of schools to Grade 7 and 12 learners. The Basic Education Department’s decision to reopen classrooms on 1 June has been met with mixed reactions, with many teachers, parents and pupils criticising government decision as premature and reckless.

Malema echoed these concerns, noting that schools had not been properly equipped with adequate health and safety measures. The EFF leader added that schools should only be allowed to open when adhering to high sanitary standards, saying:

“Guaranteed clean water supply for all school and guaranteed sanitation, emphatically clean toilets for all schools, including those that did not have toilets before the advent of COVID-19.”

‘Cigarette ban must be backed by science’

Malema added that while the EFF was in support of a ‘South Africa free of cigarettes’, the reasoning behind the current prohibition of tobacco needed to be based on scientific evidence. In particular, Malema argued that the negative impact of alcohol, which has been sanctioned under Level 3 lockdown, would far outweigh the harmful effects of smoking. Malema said:

“The banning of tobacco should be supported by a scientific explanation. In the absence of that it is abuse of power.

Scientifically it has been proven that trauma units are overburdened by alcohol abuse. It cannot be correct that you uplift alcohol sales and ban cigarette sales.”

Malema vowed to support Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and noted, with concern, the ‘unnecessary, nonsensical and unacceptable’ attacks levelled against her.