Photo: Luke Daniel / TheSouthAfrican
Photo: Luke Daniel / TheSouthAfrican
No singing, and no dancing from the EFF today it seems. The Red Berets have issued a moody message on Heritage Day, rejecting the president’s call to carry out the Jerusalema Challenge. The party has also used the opportunity to reiterate a favourite line of theirs, taking aim at Afrikaans verse of our national anthem (Die Stem).
EFF reject Heritage Day message
The EFF’s gloomy tone was set earlier on Thursday, when they picked up from where they left off last year. For the second Heritage Day in a row, the far-left outfit have questioned ‘what heritage’ black South Africans can actually celebrate:
“As things stand in South Africa, there is no heritage to celebrate while many of us are landless and on the outskirts of our own economy. The heritage of South Africa is one of dispossession and continued humiliation at the hands of the white-minority. We call on people to consider whether they truly have ‘heritage’ in a country like this.”
No Jerusalema for Julius Malema
Their statement continued in this tone and turned on President Ramaphosa pretty quickly. As well as accusing Cyril of protecting white-minority interests, the EFF scoffed at his message of unity in dramatic fashion. There wasn’t a chance that senior members of the third-most-popular party in SA would follow the ANC’s lead on Jerusalema.
“Instead of calls to dance and forget our history and current conditions, which is a trademark of the rainbow nation to depoliticise its people, we call on South Africans to remember their situation as it is now. They must reflect on whether we truly have a heritage where most are servants and tenants of a white-minority.”
EFF rally against Die Stem
The cynicism didn’t end there, either. The EFF has also reaffirmed their opposition to ‘Die Stem’ featuring in the national anthem. For years, they have refused to sing this verse in Parliament. Now they want to go one step further and remove the section completely from the song. You can read their ‘alternative’ Heritage Day statement here:
EFF Heritage Day Statement pic.twitter.com/DQfpPM9BFg
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) September 24, 2020
