We will arrest Zuma if we’re elected: Malema

 

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), says he would arrest president Jacob Zuma if his party was elected into power, the SABC reported.

Speaking at the University of Venda in Limpopo on Sunday, Malema said that because Zuma had agreed to repay a portion of the money for non-security upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, it is an admission of guilt to corruption.

Malema said that the next step for the EFF would be to force law enforcement agencies to arrest the president.

“After he pays, we will then take him to Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria. He will stay with Oscar Pistorius and after that we will convert Nkandla into a college education so that our children can receive education from there because it was built out of our money, so we can do anything we want with it.”

Malema said that poor political leadership by the ruling party is hampering South Africa’s ability to compete economically in Africa, the SABC reported.

“Now we are number three, overtaken by Egypt- which does not even have a proper government but is economically better. We claim to have stabilised the institution of democracy, which does not lead to job creation and economic growth. Investors do not have confidence in us,” Malema said.

Data published last week showed that South Africa is once again the second biggest economy on the African continent as it reclaimed the position from Egypt – and is closing the gap on Nigeria.

Projections from the IMF, published by Bloomberg, showed that South Africa has stepped past Egypt with a GDP of around $275 billion, versus the north African nation’s $270 billion.

Nigeria has seen its economy slump significantly since the devaluation of its currency, which saw the naira drop by 30%. Despite this, however, the country still maintains the biggest economy on the continent.

The gap between South Africa and Nigeria is narrowing, however, as the distance between the two nations now stands at only $60 billion, compared to the $170 billion gap at the end of 2015.

“Why there is no leadership? Zuma does not have a plan; the ANC does not have a plan. The plan of the ANC is Zuma. Zuma does not have a plan for South Africa,” he said.

Malema said that if voted into power, the EFF would provide free education.

Rhodes University, one of the top tertiary institutions in South Africa, has said it is ‘financially vulnerable’ because a large percentage of students still owe more than 50% of their fees for 2016, while both WITS and UCT have already announced austerity measures, including the cutting of staff, the DA reported.

In October 2015, president Zuma announced a zero percent fees increase for 2016, translating into a multi-billion rand shortfall for universities across the country.