Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has issued a stern warning to party members planning to misbehave at the party’s third elective conference, warning they will be expelled.
The conference, set to elect new leadership, comes in the wake of former deputy president Floyd Shivambu leaving the party for Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
Malema confirmed during a media briefing on Thursday that the conference will take place from 12 to 15 December at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
“Anyone who behaves outside the guidelines will not see Nasrec, and even if you arrive by mistake and misbehave there, we will take the tag and show you the door,” Malema said.
“Everyone is going to behave according to the code of conduct, the Constitution, and the guidelines of the EFF, including observing discipline from the chairperson.”
Malema added that no hand will be recognised unless authorised by the chairperson.
He further noted that delegates are required to use EFF-approved accommodation and transport, warning that non-compliance will have consequences.
“No one who slept outside the hotel will get into the EFF shuttle. They will only have access to the venue through the shuttle. If you come from outside [an approved hotel], there should be an explanation. It means you are misbehaving,” he said.
Malema stressed that these measures aim to prevent disorder at the conference.
“People book hotels, buy alcohol, steal delegates, and dump them there, giving them a different discipline. We can’t allow that,” he added.
As previously reported by IOL, Malema said he will not tolerate laziness from party public representatives who do not conduct oversight visits as part of their constituency work.
Malema said this notion of drunkards being elected to lead people must come to an end because it is costing them heavily.
"This thing that the chairpersons of branches and secretaries of branches and regions, think that it is automatic to become a candidate – it is not,“ he said, sternly.
“We can even go and fetch a pastor in your ward, who is well-respected, aligns with EFF and say we want this pastor.
"The wards must be led by community activists, not by factionalists who are the best in lobbying and then lazy in doing the actual work," he said.
Meanwhile, the EFF expelled Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of Provincial Legislatures (MPLs) and councillors who failed to procure buses for the 10th anniversary bash at FNB Stadium in 2023.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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