Julius Malema wants to take over the government

EFF leader Julius Malema said that when they take over the government, they will expropriate abandoned land and buildings and give them to the people.

Malema shared these ideas during the EFF’s thirteenth Anniversary Rally and 2026 Local Government Election (LGE) manifesto launch.

He described South Africa’s 2026 local government elections as a pivotal point, which EFF supporters should embrace.

“Today, South Africa is confronted with a choice that can no longer be postponed. It is a choice between victory or death,” he said.

Malema said that when victory arrives and they gain power, there will be a focus on expropriation of land and buildings.

“When we take over government, we’re going to expropriate land that is abandoned and give it to you,” he told his supporters.

“We’re going to expropriate buildings that are abandoned and give them to you, give them to the students, and give them to the youth.”

The EFF leader further promoted universal free water and electricity for all social grant beneficiaries and the unemployed.

“All the beneficiaries of grants shall receive free electricity because they are poor already. All the unemployed shall receive free electricity and clean water,” he said.

“They make social grant recipients pay for electricity. How can you give people grants and, on the other hand, demand that they must pay for electricity?”

He said the EFF will target private-sector municipal procurement, vowing to end third-party contracting and tenders.

“We don’t want tenders. We want people to work directly, have an appointment letter, have a medical aid, and have a pension fund,” he said.

He focused on municipal auditing and legal work, which he said should be done within municipalities rather than outsourced.

“Why do you take our auditing to other people? Let’s hire people to come and work for the municipality and be the auditors themselves,” Malema said.