ELF-SA president Hulisani Mani addressing the supporters at Makhuvha stadium in Limpopo photo by Dimakatso Modipa
“From today I am taking back what belongs to me, which is South Africa and its economy, I am going to be the first beneficiary of this fertile land of South Africa, I am going to start using this land because it is through this land that we can defeat poverty, vowed ELF-SA supporters as they took an oath led by party president Hulisani Mani at an election siynqoba rally in Makhuvha stadiumThohoyandou, Limpopo on Saturday afternoon.
Mani told his supporters that South Africa must have one education system.
He pointed out that as ELF- SA they would seriously look into the issue of state capacity as various municipalities, hospitals and in government departments have collapsed because wrong people have been employed in strategic positions.
“We are calling for a skills audit and if there is a municipal manager who does not qualify to be a municipal manager and is merely qualified to be a cleaner then they must be demoted so that they can go and clean toilets,” said Mani vehemently, much to the appreciation of his supporters.
“We don’t have service delivery today because we have wrong people who have been entrusted with providing services to our people,” he said.
“The current education system is not equipping our people with relevant skills, this as some of them have master’s degrees but they are still poor and unemployed because of irrelevant skills and wrong knowledge.
“It can’t be that a person from a neighboring country comes to South Africa and become a millionaire while our people remain poor,” he said.
“Our education system has been designed not to empower us but to merely make us better employees,” said Mani.
“We need graduates who can create jobs as we have more job seekers than job creators,” he said.
“As ELF-SA members we must take a decision whether we continue to consume the useless education system or reject it until it is transformed,” said Mani.
He pointed out that black and white foreigners are the ones benefitting from the economy of the country while South African who were born and bred here are like visitors in their own country.
“It can’t be that after thirty years there is not even a single sector of the economy which is controlled by black people,” said Mani.
Senior citizens of ELF-SA dancing during the siyanqoba rally in Makhuvha stadium in Limpopo photo by Dimakatso Modipa
“They are bribing us with R350 so that we can forget that we are still not in charge of the economy,” bemoaned Mani.
“Corruption has become a cancer in South Africa because five years ago we buried two comrades, Mani and Msechwa, who were killed after exposing the VBS scandal,” he said.
He said municipalities in and around Vhenda invested over R311 million rand in a corrupt deal which has now resulted in Vhenda communities being without water as the money was diverted to a scandalous scheme.
He said the ELF- SA will build a state whereby those who speak against corruption are protected.
“As liberators we have to take a posture to say this country belongs to us, and that it does not belong to criminals.
Mani said those who are corrupt would be confronted without fear or favour.
He said lack of water in the Makhuve area exposes the government’s incapacity in this regard.
“Water is a human right and it can’t be that after thirty of democracy we are still sitting here discussing the issue of lack of water,” he said.
Mani said ELF- SA is not going to wait for 2026 for people to have water but will simply build a borehole for communities that lack water without going to report this matter somewhere else.
He said ELF-SA has erected boreholes in communities like Mavhundle, Pella in North West and Marikana in Soshanguve.
Mani emphasised the fact that ELF-SA is action driven in terms of service delivery.
He announced that the ELF-SA is running a security training programme for free for South Africans.
Mani said there must be strong and proper control of the country’s borders and that all people who are in South Africa without proper documents must go back to their countries.
He said South Africans must stop allowing illegal foreigners to live in their yards as tenants because when they commit crimes no one will know who they are as in most cases they give landlords false names and identities.
Mani stressed that every economic sector, including spaza shops, retail and hospitality, must be dominated by South Africans and not foreigners.
He said poverty in South Africa has colour and that colour is local black South African citizens.
Mani said whites and Indians have low unemployment rates because they are working in their own factories which they have created themselves, while blacks are suffering massive unemployment because they are waiting for the government to provide them with jobs.
“This means we are going to wait forever for the said jobs,” he said.
He said a rural economy must be established whereby people won’t leave their beautiful homes in the rural areas and go and live in a shack in places like Alexander in Gauteng.
Regarding the security training programme, about 1900 received certificates after being trained by Bhuti na Bhuti security company in partnership with ELF- SA.
One of the recipients, Tsaki Bankuna expressed joy that ELF-SA has afforded her a chance to train as a security officer and get a certificate in this regard.
ELF-SA president Hulisani Mani with some of the young and old people who received security certificates for free after training in Makhuvha stadium in Limpopo photo by Dimakatso Modipa
Another resident, Hlawulai Maluleke told Tshwane Talks that the security officer’s certificate will help her get a job and work for her children.
Mama Kedibone Ramatlo of the ELF-SA senior citizens told the gathered crowd that party president Hulisani Mani was in a way her own child and that she and her family members will support her all the way.
Member of ELF-SA and director of Bhuti na Bhuti security company from Tzaneen Dan Shoma told the Tshwane Talks that he was approached by the president of ELF-SA Hulisani Mani about a program of training unemployed people, young and old and giving them a security training and after giving them security certificates. The training course took three weeks and if they were to pay, they would have spent R1900 to get a security certificates.
“We have trained 1900 people across Limpopo young and old for free and they did not pay a single cent and it will help them to get a job and make an income,” said Shoma.
He said the training program started on 1 May 2024 and they are still taking more people for free until 2026.
The program has helped people from Vhembe, Giyane, Vhenda, Tzaneen, Skororo, phalabora just to name a few.
“We will be going across the country offer free security training and give young people security certificates so they can get jobs and work and we are doing everything for free and we don’t expect anything in return but the only we want is to reduce unemployment rate in the country,” said Shoma.