EFF disbands regional leadership in Vhembe due to poor poll results

The poor performance of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Limpopo during the general elections has taken its toll, with the regional leadership of the party being disbanded earlier this week.

The provincial spokesperson of the EFF, Lawrence Mapoulo, confirmed on Tuesday that the national leadership had instructed that Vhembe be restructured.

During an interview with Limpopo Mirror, Mapoulo denied allegations that the EFF is cleansing the top echelons of the party of Tshivenda-speaking members. These accusations were made by the former provincial chairperson, Tshilidzi Maraga, after he was replaced four months ago. Concerns have been raised that interim leaders appointed will come from outside the Vhembe District. “These allegations are baseless, as the EFF is being led by people who hate tribalists at all costs and are working very hard for the unity of all African people, not only in South Africa,” he said.

Mapoulo said that the organisation was moving very slowly in the region, and the leadership had to act quickly to prevent losing more voters in the future. He also dismissed claims that EFF members loyal to former deputy president Floyd Shivambu, who is from Limpopo, are leaving in droves to join the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MK). “I was in Ward 17, where Shivambu comes from, recently, and the people there know that the party members are very happy that he is gone. We are transforming the regional structures into a well-oiled machine that can attract more voters for the party,” he said.

According to senior party leadership sources, the EFF decided to disband the Limpopo command teams at branch, provincial, and regional levels and appoint a team of national leaders, led by MP Godrich Gardee, to oversee the restructuring process.

This team will appoint acting regional and provincial leadership to work towards holding assemblies later this year, where new leaders will be elected to attend the party’s national elective conference expected in December, the sources said.

The former regional chairperson of the EFF, advocate TP Matodzi, refused to comment on the latest developments and issued only a one-sentence statement on Tuesday: “I am no longer allowed to comment in the media about the organisation.”

Date:27 September 2024

By: Victor Mukwevho

Victor Mukwevho Ne-vumbani joined the Mirror during it's inception in 1990. He joined the SABC newsroom in 1995, and was known by  listeners as "A u fhedzisela ari". He was a news editor for The Tembisan Newspaper from 2007 to 2015. He rejoined the Limpopo Mirror newspaper in June 2022 as a freelance journalist.

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