Even Zuma was better than Trump
In his address, Malema slammed Trump for his 'illiteracy', saying even former president Jacob Zuma was better than him.
EFF leader Julius Malema has taken a swipe at US President Donald Trump just as he celebrates his first 100 days in office.
The EFF hosted a Workers' Day rally at the Zinniaville Sports Ground in Rustenburg, North West, on Thursday.
In his address, Malema slammed Trump for his 'illiteracy', saying even former president Jacob Zuma was better than him.
ALSO READ: WATCH: EFF to fight for return of land whether Trump likes it or not – Malema
According to The White House Historical Association, Trump was educated at the New York Military Academy and the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.
The former president has received honorary doctorates from several higher education institutions, including the universities of Fort Hare and Zululand.
'America is an enemy of Afrika'
Malema has criticised Trump on several occasions after the US president suspended financial aid to South Africa, citing the country's International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel, its relationship with Iran and the Expropriation Act.
Malema reiterated his party's call for the expropriation of land and giving it to the poor people, declaring America an enemy of Africa.
'Comrades, go na le monna o mongwe ka mo, bare ke [there is a certain man named] Donald Trump…The most illiterate president. Even Zuma was better than Donald Trump… America is an enemy of Afrika,' said Malema.
ALSO READ: Mashatile denies 'external pressure' on land expropriation while Malema calls Act a 'scam'
'They don't want stability in Afrika. They don't want any African leader who speaks for Africans. DRC has never known peace since the discovery of minerals in that particular country, because America wants to undermine the people of DRC.
'So, fighters, we want to make sure we expropriate land and give it to you, the people of Rustenburg, the people of Madibeng, the People of North West.'
Malema: 'EFF must be everywhere'
Malema further stressed the importance of serving the poor where the EFF is, suggesting ways the government could cut costs.
'The EFF is not a government-in-waiting, EFF is governing here in Rustenburg, and we want every department that s led by the EFF to perform much better the save the poor of the poorest,' said Malema.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa shrugs off Malema's 'tirade' over Elon Musk call
'When we say 'Remove the deputy ministers', a lot of money is going to be saved – And that money will come to you, the poorest of the poor.
'No pensioner must pay for water and electricity. The rich must subsidise the poor. Comrades, under the EFF Government, every doctor, when they graduate, straight from university in their gown, they go straight into a working place, they go straight into a hospital, they go straight into a clinic.'
However, he said these things would never happen under President Cyril Ramaphosa's government.
'Mambush will never rest as long as Cyril Ramaphosa is still the President of South Africa. Mambush will never rest as long as the ANC is still a government in the North West.'
READ NEXT: 'I don't care' – Malema hits back at Musk's calls for him to be sanctioned and declared 'international criminal' [VIDEOS]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
36 minutes ago
- IOL News
Words on wealth: the importance of financial regulation in protecting consumers
This article explores the critical role of financial regulation in protecting consumers from exploitation and ensuring fair market practices, highlighting recent challenges faced by regulatory bodies. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers. It shocked me to learn that the Trump administration in the United States, with the assistance of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, had dismembered and severely impeded the function of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This US government agency was established in 2011 under President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008. According to the US Treasury Department, the bureau is tasked with the responsibility to 'promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products and services'. On its website, the CFPB says its central mission 'is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans – whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products'. Wikipedia notes that many thousands of consumer complaints about financial services providers, including banks and credit card issuers, have been received and attended to by the CFPB. The CFPB is not the only US agency acting against unfair practices by financial services providers; there is the longer-running and more established Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has wide-ranging powers across business sectors that include enforcing antitrust laws. This has also been targeted by President Trump, who in March fired two of the FTC's Democratic commissioners, although the legitimacy of those firings is now being questioned in court. Which brings me to the topic of financial regulation generally. Force for good I strongly believe that regulation that levels the playing field, protects consumers from exploitation, and enables them to make better financial decisions is good for society as a whole, including the industry it regulates. Advocates of free markets would argue that companies in a competitive environment are self-regulating. I disagree. Competition is a powerful and vital force, but its nature is such that you will always have someone trying to make a quick buck by pushing the boundaries of what is normal or ethical. This is a big enough problem in a regulated environment; imagine how bad it would be in an unregulated one. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ A supreme example of pushing the boundaries is, of course, in sport - specifically those sporting codes that primarily test physical prowess, such as athletics, swimming, weight-lifting, and cycling. Before these sports became commercialised, there was little monetary incentive for athletes to cheat. Perhaps a small amount of cheating went on behind the scenes, but public perception was that the winners represented the pinnacle of human strength, speed, and endurance, and the sports codes were popular because people believed the competition was real and the winners genuine. That's not the case anymore. When I watch an athlete win a race, there's always the nagging question in the back of my mind: did he or she win on natural ability, or did performance-enhancing drugs contribute to the win? In which case, why am I wasting my time watching someone cheat? It started with a couple of risk-takers pushing the boundaries. Eventually, just to remain competitive, everyone was doping, inventing more and more elaborate schemes to evade detection. Moving targets Regulators typically struggle to keep up with the novel ways people find to push the boundaries. I like to think that the financial regulators have had more success than the sports regulators. In financial circles, there's a recent push by those on the fringes to market private equity investments, which invest in private, rather than publicly listed, companies. I have nothing against seasoned, wealthy investors putting their money into private ventures – they know the risks. I do have a problem when private equity investments are marketed to consumers who are not aware of the risks. There are currently at least two companies I know of that are marketing private equity products, including a living annuity, to the public, making out as if they are just regular products. Well, they are not regular. They carry a far higher risk for the investor than publicly listed equity. Pension funds, which have substantial assets and expertise behind them, are restricted by law to invest no more than 15% of their portfolio in private equity. And yet these fringe providers are asking consumers to trust them with their life savings.
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Illicit financial flows are derailing Africa's future
Illicit financial flows (IFFs) continue to undermine the future of Africa, hampering the ability of governments to adequately fund education, healthcare and development projects essential for lifting people out of poverty and fostering sustainable economic growth. As business leaders, politicians, academics and citizens, we cannot sit back. We must help curb the illegal flow of money out of our country through a cohesive effort by all stakeholders, both local and international, to ensure safeguards are put in place, laws are harmonised, and all enforcement agencies work together to address the problem. At the same time, we must not do anything that will deter investment. Ahead of G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, as well precursor meetings — such as the G20 finance ministers' and central bank governors' meeting and the T20 midterm conference held this month — we must formulate proposals that integrate the perspectives of public and private sector institutions, nonprofit organisations, think-tanks and universities. Together we can make valuable policy recommendations, such as using AI to turn vast amounts of data into information for developing strategic interventions. Working alongside each other, we can identify gaps in current legal frameworks and areas where greater co-operation is required. We must seek ways to stem illicit money flows. When individuals or companies evade their tax obligations, deliberately falsify import or export documents, or misappropriate funds intended for development projects, they are not committing victimless crimes. These outflows not only weaken our reputation in the eyes of the international markets, but also make it harder for the government to raise capital at manageable interest rates. We already owe too much: the National Treasury predicts that debt on our national balance sheet will be 77% of GDP this year. IFFs directly undermine economic growth, costing the South African economy the equivalent of almost 5% of annual collected tax revenue — losses of about R92.5bn. On the African continent, the numbers are more alarming, with between $50bn (about R889bn) and $90bn stolen annually, according to the UN. A 2020 report from a UN conference on trade and development states that IFFs represent as much as 3.7% of Africa's GDP. This figure has almost certainly grown since then, given that those who break laws will keep doing so if they are not held accountable. We recently convened a G20 multi-stakeholder dialogue to better understand this challenge, quantify its impact, assess current solutions, and identify new ones . One of our speakers, deputy minister of international relations and co-operation Alvin Botes, spelt out what this theft means: countries with high IFFs spend at least 25% less on healthcare and 50% less on education compared with their peers. IFFs wipe out any good the $65bn in aid Africa receives each year might do. They reduce progress made in making people's lives better. There are initiatives under way to address IFFs. For example, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) collaborates with the UN to strengthen countries' financial systems and prevent illicit outflows. While South Africa's inclusion on the FATF's grey list is viewed by some as an embarrassment, it enables us to strengthen our legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as enhance our anti-money-laundering capabilities. While South Africa's inclusion on the FATF's grey list is viewed by some as an embarrassment, it enables us to strengthen our legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as enhance our anti-money-laundering capabilities. We are also seeing prosecutions of high-level fraudsters, especially those who use dubious accounting methods to move money around and avoid paying their fair share of taxes. It is gratifying to see that action has been taken in this regard. Other UN entities have developed discussion platforms and measurement systems. There are 10 asset-recovery inter-agency networks that have 178 member countries, allowing illicit money flows to be traced across borders. In addition, Interpol supports national and international law enforcement agencies to investigate, trace and prosecute those responsible for these crimes. We must all strive towards expanding such interventions, as well as advocate for and enable closer alignment between government departments and between local law enforcement agencies and their international counterparts. However, our solutions must not cause more harm than good by discouraging legitimate investment. We should not, for example, implement unfair tax regimes that could result in capital flight. We must also not inhibit international investment inflows by making it nearly impossible to comply with legislation and regulations. Such a state of affairs would merely encourage companies to operate businesses in sectors such as import and export under the radar. Through working together by sharing data, harmonising laws and holding those responsible for IFFs accountable, we can strengthen the economy by plugging the holes through which money leaks and encouraging investment. Our people deserve nothing less.
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Trump says he has no plans to speak to Musk as feud persists
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he has no plans to speak with Elon Musk, signalling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill any time soon. Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he wasn't 'thinking about' the Tesla CEO. 'I hope he does well with Tesla,' Trump said. However, Trump said a review of Musk's extensive contracts with the federal government was in order. 'We'll take look at everything,' the president said. 'It's a lot of money.' Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Musk's electric cars on the White House lawn, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Musk, for his part, did not directly address Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending bill that contains much of Trump's domestic agenda.
