EFF Post Zuma: Will it die or will it adapt?

Now that Zuma is gone, will the EFF survive or will it sink, just like many other ANC off-shoots? It must be noted that the longest surviving ANC off-shoot has been the PAC, it manged to exist for a long period, but it has also waned thin. Of the recent off-shoots, UDM and COPE, one can say that they are basically dead horses kept on the race by the leaders at the helm. The moment both Lekota and Holomisa relinquish power, these two parties will die completely. Will that be the fate of the EFF as well? Only time will tell.

Let us look at the perceived reasons for the establishment of the EFF, whether these reasons are true or not, is another debate altogether. Firstly, the EFF came about after the expulsion of Julius Malema from the ANC. Many people claimed that when the EFF was established, it was meant as a vehicle to mobilise support against Jacob Zuma, to ensure that he was ousted, since COPE failed to do so. The narrative was that after mobilising enough support, Julius would return, with a huge voting block, to take out Zuma. How true this is, is anybody's guess. One can still argue the veracity of these claims, given the number of ANC leaders who were said to be trying to woo Julius back to the ANC. From a rumored attempt by Mama Madikizela-Mandela, to Mashatile, Lesufi, Msimang, to the late Chabane, all these people were rumored to be trying to get Julius back.

Another reason that many are putting forward, was that the EFF was formed out of anger by Julius, and he did so to spite the ANC, but Zuma specifically. Argument is that after he helped deliver Zuma to Luthuli House, and thus Mahlambandlopfu, he was cast aside and neglected by the man. Many say that the reason his anger was not towards Ramaphosa, who happened to chair the Appeals Committee which sanctioned his dismissal, is that he felt immensely and completely betrayed by Zuma, whom he had taken as his mentor and as a father figure. The betrayal was not only political, but cut deep to a personal level, and as such he felt the need to show Zuma that he could be his own man, and not lurk in the shadows. He was out to prove a point, not only to his detractors, but to Zuma. He was battered emotionally, and he felt that the only way was to establish a political party to embarrass Zuma at every corner.

Some argue that Malema felt that the ANC under Zuma had deviated from its founding principles, and had lost its way. So, from an ideological point, the EFF is not against the ANC, but the difference is in how they get to the end point. They further argue that as is the case, hunger for power led to Malema allowing himself to be bought, by the same imperialists he acts like he is opposed to in public. The idea of being a leader outside the ANC, which claims to have made him, probably had much more appeal. Indeed, in the EFF there is no one who calls him to order, no one who opposes him. He is the King, the Supreme Commander, the Life Leader of the party. Basically, the EFF is his, and everyone who believes otherwise, must just chuck out. You can see this by how none of the leaders dare take Julius on, always nodding and agreeing to him, even when he talks things that make no sense. From Adv Mpofu, Dr Ndlozi, Shivambu to Gardee, all grown men being pulled from one side to the other by Julius.

Back to the argument. The EFF positioned itself as a Zuma opposition. They had many chances to show the masses of our country that they are a credible option to replace the ANC, but they failed, as their focus was on an individual. They failed to utilise their legal expertise to challenge the issue of land. They failed to use their presence in parliament to ensure that the housing backlog is eliminated, or that our people are back on the Agricultural grid, not only as subsistence farmers, but to get into commercial farming. They failed to ensure that the vast fields that lay barren in rural villages, is utilised as a means to curb excess migration to urban areas, thus causing an influx of people into the informal settlements, in search for jobs. The EFF had a perfect opportunity to not only ensure meaningful employment of young people in South Africa, through forcing parliament to enact legislation that forces business, more especially in the hospitality industry and the fast food industry, as well as the NGO sector, not to employ more than 25% foreigners, as is currently happening, where you find these industries employing more people of foreign decent than locals.

With that said, will the EFF survive the post-Zuma era? They still stand a chance. It can't be denied that some people used the EFF as a temporal home to await Zuma's departure, and some are willing to give the ANC, under Ramaphosa, a chance again. There are those who are loyal to the 8 Cardinal Pillars of the EFF, many of them being young people who have no attachment to the ANC. If the EFF can adapt their strategies, and vigorously debate issues in parliament, and be seen as being genuine in their call for Economic Freedom, then they stand a much greater chance, much better than the UDM and COPE, and much better than the DA. There are many black, middle class, who want a political home, some having no political attachments, some disillusioned with many other parties that we have, and all these people need a political home they can attach themselves to. The EFF can position themselves as that political home. They can still create trust between themselves and the people. Do they want to? Time will tell. On my side, I am willing to give them a chance. They can still redeem themselves.