The EFF was created to push the ANC to the left

Former EFF member of Parliament, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said that the EFF was started as a balancing force to prevent the ANC from shifting too far to the right.

Ndlozi shared his views about the creation of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) during a discussion on the Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience (SMWX) podcast.

The EFF is a communist and black nationalist political party founded in 2013 by former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema.

It describes itself as a radical, Marxist, Leninist, and Fanonian movement born out of the need to confront the unfinished struggle for true liberation in South Africa.

“The EFF represents the aspirations of the poor, the working class, and the dispossessed,” it states on its website.

At the party’s launch, Malema was flanked by Floyd Shivambu, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Andile Mngxitama, and Sam Tshabalala.

This makes Ndlozi an expert commentator on the party and why they decided to start it 13 years ago.

He said that the EFF project, of which he was a part, predicted a day where the ANC would lose significant support in South Africa.

“If you read it faithfully and with the necessary intellectual honesty, the core of the EFF was to analyse the self-destructive nature of the ANC and SACP,” he said.

“It predicted that a time would come when their electoral support would fall so low that their only remaining option for the ANC would be to move to the right.”

“We therefore created a left-wing entity so that when that day arrived, we could keep the ANC to the left.”

He said that the EFF was founded to serve as an antithesis to the destruction occurring within the heritage of the liberation movement.

It aimed to remain faithful to the ideals of the 1955 Freedom Charter and the Constitution.

“That day eventually came because that initial analysis was honest. It stemmed from the realisation that there was no capacity for self-correction in the ANC,” he said.

African unity is needed for white and Indian security

Ndlozi argued that minority groups, including white and Indian South Africans, need African unity to create a secure country.

“If the African house is not in order, the entire South African state and economy will crumble, regardless of who holds municipal or national office,” he said.

He cited the hypothetical case of Helen Zille and the Democratic Alliance winning the local government election in November 2026.

“She is not going to win. However, let’s assume 70% of the African population in Soweto, Alexandra, Orange Farm, and Diepsloot don’t vote,” he explained.

That will lead to the Democratic Alliance gaining over 50% of the vote, creating the impression that the DA is getting 50%.

“That is simply the mathematics of differential voter turnout. Naturally, that reproduces minority governance,” he said.

He described this scenario as a minority regime reproduced through the mechanisms of democracy itself.

“Even if she achieves that, she won’t be able to make a meaningful difference. She won’t be able to turn things around because you need African unity,” he said.

He argued that for South Africa to function, whites, Indians, coloureds, and all other groups need African unity.

“If the African house is not in order, the country cannot stand. That is how fundamental it is. This is Africa, and you cannot govern it while keeping Africans divided,” he said.