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WORKPLACE INTERFERENCE

Bitter taste: Malema hops onto anti-foreigner band-wagon

While a South African migrant to the USA bequeaths R100-million to vaccine development, EFF leader Julius Malema and his henchmen terrorise restaurants that employ migrants.
Bitter taste: Malema hops onto anti-foreigner band-wagon EFF leader Julius Malema speaks to Kream restaurant management during a visit to restaurants at the Mall of Africa in Midrand on 19 January 2022 to assess the local-to-foreign staff ratios. (Photo: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Ferial Haffajee
By Ferial Haffajee
19 Jan 2022
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As the South African-born pharma and philanthropist billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong endowed R100-million for genetic surveillance and vaccine manufacturing to the country, aggressive anti-migrant politics took hold. 

At exactly the moment Soon-Shiong and President Cyril Ramaphosa were unveiling this groundbreaking partnership, EFF leader Julius Malema was inspecting employee lists at restaurants at the Mall of Africa to see the ratio of foreign-born to local employees. 

Malema started at Kream restaurant, where the owner Tufan Yerebakan initially refused to meet the EFF but then gave in. After the meetings, Malema said business owners had agreed to a 50/50 staff split. EFF spokesperson Vuyani Pambo earlier told Radio 702 the party wanted a 60/40 ratio of locals to migrants.  

MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 19: EFF supporters outside Kream restuarant during Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visit to restaurants at Mall of Africa on January 19, 2022 in Midrand, South Africa. The purpose of the visit was to check and assess the employment ratio of locals and foreign nationals. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
EFF supporters outside Kream restaurant at the Mall of Africa in Midrand where the party checked the employment split between locals and foreigners on 19 January 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)

At Ocean Basket in Menlyn, the EFF’s Obakeng Ramabodu met the manager and said the party was giving the restaurant two weeks to reverse its ratio of South Africans to migrant staff. He gave the manager instructions on numbers after perusing the staff list and ID or passport numbers. 

The EFF is responding to a populist army marching against African migrants. At Soweto on Sunday, Nhlanhla Lux of Operation Dudula and his followers removed foreign traders from the Bara taxi rank, according to News24. They misidentified some traders and evicted a few South African traders too. Lux is distributing a pamphlet calling for a day of action against foreigners on 22 January.

The next day, 18 January, the Patriotic Alliance combed through the Johannesburg City Council building, counting and threatening foreign-born staff. Party leader Gayton McKenzie amplified videos of young party activists shouting at council employees.  

McKenzie has deployed teams across the country who are confiscating expired goods from migrant-owned spaza and small shops. He has said 2022 will be the year of the campaign against migrants working in South Africa and the businesses that employ them.  

MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 19: Julius Malema leaves Ponta restuarant after speaking with management during Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visit to restaurants at Mall of Africa on January 19, 2022 in Midrand, South Africa. The purpose of the visit was to check and assess the employment ratio of locals and foreign nationals. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Julius Malema leaves Ponta restaurant after speaking to management as part of the EFF's bid to assess the number of foreigners working at the Mall of Africa in Midrand on 19 January 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)

The EFF and the Patriotic Alliance fish in the same political waters and McKenzie’s anti-foreigner campaigns have proven so popular among his constituency of unemployed and poor people that Malema is playing catch-up. But because he is a self-identified pan-Africanist, the EFF statements have projected its actions as protecting migrants who are exploited and paid less than South African workers.

The EFF said its restaurant visits were to “check labour policies, staff compliment (sic) and ensure that our fellow Africans are not being exploited and locals are employed at a satisfactory level”.

MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 19: Julius Malema brief the media during Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visit to restaurants at Mall of Africa on January 19, 2022 in Midrand, South Africa. The purpose of the visit was to check and assess the employment ratio of locals and foreign nationals. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Julius Malema briefs the media during the EFF's visit to restaurants in the Mall of Africa on 19 January 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 19: Members of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visit restaurants at Mall of Africa on January 19, 2022 in Midrand, South Africa. The purpose of the visit was to check and assess the employment ratio of locals and foreign nationals. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
EFF members visit restaurants in the Mall of Africa on 19 January 2022 to find out how many foreigners are employed compared with locals. (Photo: Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)

TimesLive reported that DA labour spokesperson Michael Cardo said “the idea that Julius Malema has the authority to impose himself on a private employer – armed like an apartheid-era labour inspector with a clipboard and a kit to conduct a kind of pencil test – is both laughable and dangerous”.  

Three judgments since 2018 have found against the EFF for interfering in workplaces. The party has ignored the court orders, which found that its workplace interference actions are illegal. 

Lux has been celebrated for his role in stopping the July 2021 rioting and looting through his movement, the Soweto Parliament, but since June 2021 he has issued threat after threat against African migrants trading or employed in Soweto.

Without naming the EFF, Labour and Employment Minister Thulas Nxesi said do-it-yourself inspections were ill-advised.  He said his department is finalising regulations to "deal with the employment of foreign workers in South Africa.  It is imperative to wait for the process to be completed rather than parties acting outside the law". He added: "Any violence in seeking to identify areas of noncompliance with the law is counterproductive to the principle of labour market stability and labour peace...(needed) to attract foreign investment." DM

At 5.55pm, this article was updated and the headline amended. 

Comments

Tim Price Jan 20, 2022, 11:07 AM

The EFF and JM - always scraping the bottom of the cesspit #voestsekEFF

Barbara Harris Jan 20, 2022, 11:23 AM

Part of our factory was burnt down in September 2021 because management refused to bow down to EFF demands to employ their people. Under the guise of unprotected strike action, part of factory was set alight and has now rendered the company incapable of any production. The plant employs 375 people, men and women and their jobs are now at risk. This is how the EFF operate.

Charles Parr Jan 20, 2022, 01:29 PM

My view is that things are so desperate in this country now that our only recourse is to sue the president of the country for dereliction of duty in respect of the people that he appoints to oversee the duties of the state. The constitution confers a lot of power in the president but he also has simultaneous obligations to the people of the country to keep them safe, provide education, health care, etc. This is not a dig at CR but CR must now bear the brunt of our actions simply because he really is a do nothing upset no one in the ANC president. If he cannot appoint a cabinet that can ensure that each and every government department works properly and efficiently then he must admit that the job is too big for him and resign.

Andre Toit Jan 20, 2022, 12:01 PM

Gayton McKenzie is an ex-con. Malema should be a current one,after all his antics, for which he should already have joined the orange overall brigade.

Gerrie Pretorius Pretorius Jan 20, 2022, 12:02 PM

"Three judgments since 2018 have found against the EFF for interfering in workplaces. The party has ignored the court orders, which found that its workplace interference actions are illegal. " If this is true, why is julias allowed to still roam the streets of SA? Should he not be locked up with his mate jz? Oh sorry I forgot, they are of the 'protected specie' comrades. They can do what they like and still be protected by the anc.

Peter Worman Jan 20, 2022, 12:08 PM

Julius Malema has at various times hero worshipped Bob Mugape and advocated for the opening up of our borders now he supports the cry started by Herman Mashaba to get rid of foreign nationals. Thing is this has been going on for decades and it's estimated that some 2 million Zimbo's currently live and I presume work in SA and by all accounts are largely well educated and great employees. So what's changed? I do agree that uncontrolled immigration is out of control in SA and it's not just Africans but Pakistani's, Bangladeshi's, Chinese and Indians. Drive through any small town and try and find stores owned and run by Saffa's. Even the suburb I live in in Durban is slowly being overrun by foreign owned businesses and who know's if they're legal or not. So it's a huge problem but these guys are illegally targeting the wrong people. Home Affairs and Customs should be grilled and the ANC should be held to account What concerns me is that this could get very nasty and our Keystone Cops have proved they can't enforce the law especially mass riots so I would be concerned, very concerned

Charles Parr Jan 20, 2022, 01:38 PM

The problem is that the journalists and photographers won't cover Blikkiesdorp where the dozen or so Pakistani or Somali traders are strategically situated to drive the South African traders out of the area but they will be at The Mall of Africa if the EFF invades, so guess where the EFF goes.

Gerrit Marais Jan 20, 2022, 12:54 PM

Stop giving so much publicity to this clown and his cohorts. The only reason Julius Maligna (intentional) is anything is because the media affords him so much time. It's like giving credence to the political utterings of a primary school child.

Ingrid Obery Jan 20, 2022, 01:51 PM

I feel sick at this mini Hitler

Greg Barker Jan 20, 2022, 02:00 PM

why is this guy not behind bars yet?

Sheda Habib Jan 20, 2022, 02:47 PM

Malema tried to take over the OAU and make himself the GADAFI of Africa. They kicked him out on his bum so now he is anti-Africa

Hans Wendt Jan 20, 2022, 04:01 PM

Not so long ago in Germany something similar happened. They started handing out yellow stars to the "foreigners". Maybe this trend now gets a different colour.....red perhaps.

Hanlie Louw Jan 21, 2022, 08:55 AM

The question Malema and his followers should ask is , "why do so many Zimbabweans need to come to this country looking for opportunities?" The country they have fled from has implemented all the policies that the EFF see as the solution to SA's problems, "giving back the land to the people " and "decolonialising" . What good has that done?