South African political parties train their members to steal state money and are required to pay up to R500,000 per month

Former EFF leader and the founder of Afrika Mayibuye Movement, Floyd Shivambu, said that some political organisations train their members to steal state money.

He added that members of political parties who hold public office are often required to pay large sums of money to their superiors and the organisation.

He shared this information during an interview with Gabriel Makin on the popular podcast The Common Sense.

Shivambu is best known as the co-founder of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in 2013 alongside Malema.

He served as the party’s Deputy President until 2024, overseeing policy, research, and international relations.

In 2014, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the EFF, a position he held until 2024. He was also a member of the Pan-African Parliament from 2014 to 2018.

Shivambu left the EFF in 2024 and joined the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), becoming its Secretary General and a Member of Parliament.

However, it was short-lived. In June 2025, MK Leader Jacob Zuma dismissed him as MK’s Secretary General.

Three months later, Shivambu registered his political party, Afrika Mayibuye Movement, ahead of the local elections.

He explained that existing radical opposition parties, like the EFF and MK, had succumbed to internal abuse, personality cults, and organisational instability.

He positioned AMM as a structured, non-cultish alternative that advocates for radical-left policies without internal dysfunction.

Political parties train their members to steal state money – Floyd Shivambu

During The Common Sense interview, Shivambu alleged that some political parties in South Africa train and encourage their members to steal state money.

He explained that some political parties demand R50,000 per month from a councillor, even though the councillor’s take-home salary is much less.

“This person has a mortgage, car, family, and school fee obligations. They can therefore not afford to give R50,000 to the party,” he said.

“This means they’re going to steal. They will engage in wrongdoing, collaborate with municipal officials, and, once they start stealing, they will steal forever.”

“There are political organisations that literally train their public representatives to steal government money.”

He said that some government officials are required to deliver a minimum amount to their party every month.

“If you listen to the figures, some MMCs are told they must bring in R500,000 every month. That happens in some of the organisations here in South Africa,” he said.

Shivambu said that if the Afrika Mayibuye Movement were to come to power, it would stop the patronage networks linked to political parties.

“We will succeed in uprooting and exposing those elements while building a sustainable organisation,” he said.