 Big spender rounds on his enemies Karima Brown, Business Day, Johannesburg, 23 February 2010 PERSONAL attacks on journalists, the race card and twisted logic were some of the tools Julius Malema used yesterday to try to dig himself out of a hole relating to his lifestyle. SA’s enfant terrible of politics shot from the hip, attacking enemies, real and perceived, in an effort to manage the growing fallout after reports of his lavish lifestyle, financed largely through lucrative state tenders. Flanked by members of his national executive and surrounded by African National Congress Youth League acolytes who cheered as if on cue whenever “comrade president” trained his guns on members of the media, Malema told a packed press conference in the foyer of Luthuli House that he would normally not have “dignified” reports that he was living large. But he said it was necessary to “clarify” for members of the youth league the “wrong, misleading and damaging” reports that had appeared about him in weekend newspapers. Malema went for journalists and singled out City Press reporter Piet Rampedi, a journalist at the Sunday Times he did not mention by name, and Business Day, all of which he accused of aiding his enemies in and outside the tripartite alliance. The lion’s share of the abuse went to Rampedi, the City Press journalist who was among the first to suggest that Malema’s company’s business dealings with provincial government departments in Limpopo could come under the Treasury’s spotlight in its probe of provincial tender corruption. “Piet Rampedi! You are a little boy, you will never win against me,” Malema said to the delight of his youth league cronies in the audience. But Rampedi was unfazed and asked more questions. Malema also singled out journalists who “were sleeping with politicians”, and Business Day for being part of a “left faction” that was trying to oust him. “We know of these journalists who are against us and get their information in brown envelopes,” Malema said. When pushed for details, Malema said: “We are not going to name names, it’s for our own intelligence purposes. We use it to make an assessment of the objective conditions.” Instead of clarifying himself, however, Malema dug himself into a deeper hole. It started when he said he had “instructed” his attorney to deregister him as a director of the company SGL Engineering Projects, which reportedly made more than R130m off tenders. Malema could not recall when the instruction took effect or the dates he issued the instruction. Neither could he provide any documentation, including letters of resignation, that he had signed to give effect to such an instruction. “I don’t write letters. I call. Don’t you get it? My lawyer takes instruction,” he said. Malema also could not account for why he was still listed as an SGL director last year. Shortly after he was elected as youth league president in 2008, he told journalists he had no business interests. It was not only the media who got short shrift. He denied senior alliance and ANC leaders, including ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande and Congress of South African Trade Unions boss Zwelinzima Vavi were behind the so-called “smear” against him. But Malema said he was going to “tell to their faces” — referring to ANC leaders who attended yesterday’s national working committee meeting — that he knew they were trying to orchestrate his downfall. The trio are part of that committee. Malema used race as a get-out- of-jail card, saying “whites” did not want “black diamonds” to shine. He said if one was to compare excess one need only look as far as “white youth” and their snazzy cars to see what living large really meant. He continued his tirade against the “owners of the means of production” — ignoring completely the irony of his defence of being a businessman who made millions off the state and the youth league’s insistence on nationalising mines. “I have never stolen from the poor,” Malema insisted. But youth league treasurer Pule Mabe’s comment that “the best way to do business is through government tenders”, and youth league colleague Steven Ngobeni’s quip that Malema “can’t have the lifestyle of the poor just because he champions the poor”, perhaps sum up Malema’s logic. [email protected] You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
