The DA leader John Steenhuisen has taken a swipe at the EFF leaders Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu, saying they spent VBS money on luxury items instead of uplifting the lives of the poor.
He said this was clear that the EFF was not in the business of protecting and ensuring that people were freed from poverty.
"The money was not spent on social good, projects that would uplift and save the poor, instead it was spent on luxury items, splurges at the Durban July on campaign, and other luxury goods.
"It shows that the EFF has no intention of being the vanguard of the poor, this is a mask that they use to justify the types of activities that they get up to," he said.
Steenhuisen made the remarks during a briefing in Cape Town on Wednesday.
This was to outline the party's expectations for President Cyril Ramaphosa's opening of parliament address.
Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his speech on Thursday in a joint sitting of two houses – the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
The opening happens once every five years, after the national general elections.
This address will be delivered under a new government, the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Steenhuisen’s remarks came after the bank’s chair, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, alleged that Malema and Shivambu accepted bribes from the bank.
Matodzi pleaded guilty to 33 charges, including corruption, theft, and money laundering.
He said that the EFF has received monthly donations and a so-called business loan of millions of rands from the bank since 2017 through a front company, Sgameka Projects.
Malema and Shivambu benefited personally, according to Matodzi’s allegations.
During the briefing, Steenhusien promised to rescue South Africa from radical and anti-constitutional forces.
He was referring to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and MK Party.
“Where the EFF and MK seek to break our country, the DA seeks to build it. And where the EFF and MK seek to undo the progress made by a free and prosperous South Africa, the DA will fight to advance it,” he said.
He continued to say that his party will, through the GNU, demonstrate to South Africans what the DA can do at a national level when allowed to govern.
He further called for unity in the new government arrangement.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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