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EFF, Nzimande ‘war of words’ continue

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The war of words between the Economic Freedom Fighters and SA Community Party general secretary Blade Nzimande continued on Monday, with the EFF referring to Nzimande as an “intellectual dwarf”.

The EFF said in a statement that it was not even shocked by Nzimande’s call that the party be killed.

“Nzimande has called on a party that openly rejects neoliberalism, embraces socialism and uses Marxism, Leninism [and] Fanonian schools of thought to be killed and removed from society because the SACP is opposed to these ideals,” national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said.

He said Nzimande leads a party that supported policies such as GEAR, ASGISA and the ANC-led National Development Plan, and did not celebrate that there were forces on the left in South Africa pursuing socialism.

Ndlozi said Nzimande, who is also Higher Education Minister, had not called for “neo-liberal parties that supported privatisation like the DA or parties that defended white interests such as the Freedom Front Plus to die”.

‘Organisational death’

On Sunday, Nzimande stood by his earlier statement that the Young Communist League (YCL) should take on the Economic Freedom Fighters to make sure the party ”dies”.

”They must engage them ideologically, they must engage them politically, they must engage them on the ground in terms of ensuring that the EFF dies…

”Alright, we don’t mean physical death, we mean organisational death,” he said, when asked to expand on his comments that the YCL take them on at the SACP’s Special National Congress last week.

The EFF took exception to Nzimande’s comments last week, posting a statement on its website calling him ”anti-democratic, anti-intellectual and anti-educational”, and promoting intolerance.

Nzimande said the EFF came from ”our structures”, referring to EFF president Julius Malema presiding over the ANC Youth League before he was kicked out of the party.

‘Factory faults’

But, he added, ”we always have factory faults, like any production process”.

Ndlozi said the EFF had managed to grow into a “formidable force, both in the urban and rural areas”.

“This is what really troubles Nzimande. What gives him sleepless nights is that unlike him, blacks in the EFF have managed to truly build an alternative socialist party without any white supervision,” he said.

“We know that he is an intellectual dwarf that depends on [SACP deputy general secretary] Jeremy Cronin to make any meaningful and substantial contribution.” News24


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