‘Give us R1bn – or else!’

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema launched a scathing attack on the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan on Saturday for not including the youth in his recent Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.

VIVA: Julius Malema speaks at the 65th anniversary of the ANCYL, hosted at the Rotary Stadium in Mthatha at the weekend.

Malema was speaking to about 10 000 Youth League members during the 65th anniversary celebration of the youth movement at Rotary Stadium in Ngangelizwe in Mthatha at the weekend.

The firebrand and controversial youth leader said the youth league wanted Gordhan to give R1billion to the newly formed National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

The NYDA is headed by Malema’s deputy, Andile Lungisa.

“We are making a call to our minister of finance to put money in the NYDA, because even when he spoke there, he said nothing about the youth,” Malema said.

He was not sure if “this minister” knows that South Africa has young people, he added.

“I don’t know why this minister is not budgeting for the youth. He is creating a hostile environment with the wrong people,” Malema said, while President Jacob Zuma, who was also at the rally, looked on smiling.

The only way that Gordhan could apologise was to put not less than a billion into the NYDA’s account.

“Failure to put more money into that account, comrade Pravin, will make you know us (youth) better. You must ask those who came before you … they would tell you what it means to make the youth of South Africa angry.”

Malema said that they did not want to be angry with Gordhan but simply demanded what was due to them.

“We qualify for this money; we are not begging, we are calling because it is our right to receive this money, we want more money that will service these young people.”

Malema’s criticism of Gordhan coincided with his call for African leadership in the economic sector of the country.

He said it was not enough that a black person was minister of finance but that a black person was needed in the Finance Ministry.

He said when former president Thabo Mbeki appointed former deputy minister of finance Jubu Moleketi he thought that there was a clear succession plan in that department.

“Comrades, we must make sure we fight for an African leadership in the economy; it’s not a secret we have never had an African minister of finance. It cannot be just because we want to nurse the markets.

“We are told that Africans are incompetent, they cannot handle finances and complicated issues of the economy; there must be a deliberate effort to empower Africans.”

He said that political power was useless as long as there was no economic power.

He told the audience they could vote until they were green but without economic power their vote was useless.

“We must fight the real struggle of the attainment of economic power.”

He called on the NYDA to be more vigilant and to put the interests of young people at the heart of their function.

He said in each and every local municipality there should be an office of the NYDA to service the needs of the youth.

He also called on NYDA to be at the forefront of the fight against ukuthwala, a practice mostly done in the Pondoland areas of forcing young girls into marriage.

“In the immediate (future) the agency (NYDA) must fight ukuthwala. This thing of marrying young kids at an early age by old men who cannot propose to people of their own age must come to an end,” Malema said to loud applause from the crowd.