SACPblackStar.jpg

 

 

Malema is supported by some sections of the neoliberal media

 

 

Sizwe Nyenyiso, Battle of Ideas Commission, SACP Brian Bunting, Cape Town,
17 February 2014

 

The media has been abuzz with the possible sequestration of the
self-appointed leader of Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF), Mr. Julius Malema.
This follows a granting of provisional sequestration order by the High Court
in Pretoria to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in pursuing the
recoupment of a tax bill that amounts R16 million. This is linked to a tax
bill, related interest and penalties that Mr. Malema dodged during his elite
lavish lifestyle as the President of the African National Congress Youth
League (ANCYL). It was during this period when Julius Malema mysteriously
became a millionaire overnight through what was later alleged to be a web of
tender corruption in his own province of Limpopo.

 

Julius Malema took full responsibility of this bill and made certain
confidential arrangements with SARS.  His Party, the EFF also conceded that
Mr. Malema has questions to answer regarding his tax affairs. In their own
admission, the EFF has proudly acknowledged through its spokesperson that
"The debt owed to Sars by a trust linked to Julius Malema is not R16m, but
R4m. Sars ballooned this with 50 percent interest and 200 percent penalty".
He further claims that Mr. Malema signed on agreement with SARS in duress as
he was set up to admit R16 million tax bill.

 

While the EFF Commander and his crew accepted responsibility of not paying
the tax bill, they refuse take responsibility of the consequences. Instead,
they are going around making wide accusations and playing "finger pointing
and blaming game", targeting a usual scapegoat "political plot". What Mr.
Malema and his EFF crew have failed to do throughout this game is to come
clean on how his lavish lifestyle was maintained and how his multi-million
rand wealth was accumulated. This question is more relevant since it is
public knowledge that he about R30 000 monthly salary range as the President
of ANCYL. However, while the funding source of his lavish lifestyle remains
a mystery, his ledged involvement through, a company called on-point
engineering in the tender fraud that milked the Limpopo provincial
government dry has shed the light. 

 

The EFF crew has responded to this provisional sequestration in a manner
that portrays Mr Malema as a victim of political ploy, which aims to
"prevent him to go to the public office", they say. This tired spin
deliberately ignores that Mr. Malema's problems with SARS, Public Protector
and Judiciary are older than their new political infant, EFF. These emanate
days back when Mr. Malema was still nurtured by the ANC to become a refined
political output. In the middle of their power hungry stunt, they miss a
bigger point as the self-anointed representatives and paragon of class
political correctness, that their Commander owes the State millions of Rand.
This is the money that SARS is trying to recoup to finance social spending
and other government programmes. The R16 million that their Commander
refuses can finance approximately 20 Cooperatives, which in turn can create
jobs to a minimum of 100 persons thus translating to economic activism of
more than 100 households. 

 

While serving their unapologetic and self-serving ambitions of going through
the corridors of Parliament, the EFF crew must be reminded that SARS
collects revenue for sustainability of the current and future generations.
These are funds that government relies on to implement its decisive poverty
elevation programmes. It is also important to remember that every citizen
must comply with the laws of the land, including the tax laws. In their
self-serving agenda the EFF must work with government in the fight against
corruption and stop interpreting the enforcement of laws through applicable
legislative mechanism as a strategy to prevent Malema's ambitions.  In this
regard, Ramakatsa's assertion that "Commander in chief Julius Malema will
form part of the EFF commissars, organisers, and fighters who will be sworn
in as members of Parliament and provincial legislatures immediately after
May 7,"  is misplaced.

 

The EFF should be reminded that their Chief demonised State power in the
recent history when it was conducive for him to avoid transparency and
public scrutiny. It was during this period of his alleged active involved in
amassing of tenders in Limpopo with mutiny without any instrument to monitor
his accumulation path. There was no legislative instrument that forced him
to declare his interest, hence the participation in State was risky for his
private and personal accumulation agenda at the time. This is what he
passionately said during the interview with Debora Patta in 2010 in
justifying his lack of interest to go to Parliament "I must grow in the ANC
for me to accept political responsibilities, I refuse seating in this chair
people coming to pursued me to go to Parliament because Parliament is for
old people to go to make laws, I don't even know these laws, what law I'm
going to make, who am I to make to make laws?" This public acknowledged of
political immaturity as he honestly conceded still needed a polishing
process through ANYCL factory to become a good final product. However, the
polishing process was short-lived as he got expelled from the ANC in 2012
due to deficit of political discipline.

 

Two years after his expulsion, the EFF want us to believe that Malema has
matured to the level of accepting political responsibility in the State.
This sudden availability to serve raises more questions than answers. Should
we interpret his unavailability to sever in 2010 as a strategy to avoid
accountability and public scrutiny as public servants were compelled to
declare their interest by different "Codes of Conduct for Public Office"?
Was the compulsory declaration of assets and business interest a risk to the
alleged accumulation through tender fraud?  These are the questions that the
South Africans must probe as we test the attributes of those who should
serve in the public office. 

 

It can be argued that Mr. Malema's sudden interest to go to Parliament is
informed by his financial troubles. The Limpopo corruption fountain has
dried up and there is a desperately need to maintain his life as SARS is
chasing over the little that is remaining. The difference this time is that,
he can accept Parliament deployment without any worry that hidden assets
will be discovered, since SARS has attached them. He knows that there is
nothing to disclosure as the Public Protector, SARS and the Courts of law
have declared on his behalf.

 

This desperate state has been eloquently captured by an article headline
"Financially embattled EFF leader Julius Malema will make it to Parliament
after the elections, his party vowed on Thursday" by TimesLive on 13
February.

 

.        Sizwe Nyenyiso is a member of the Battle of Ideas commission SACP
Brian Bunting 

 

 





 

 

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