EFF’s Julius Malema criticises the Government of National Unity for its failed policies, claiming neoliberal austerity is suffocating the economy, deepening inequality, and excluding the black majority from meaningful participation. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leaderJulius Malemasays theGovernment of National Unity(GNU) has failed the poor, the workers, the youth, and the nation. Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday, Malema accused the GNU of failing to drive economic growth and create jobs, while continuing to uphold a colonial economic structure that excludes the black majority from meaningful participation.
“This is underlined by stagnant economic activity, the collapse of industrial capacity, and the entrenchment of mass unemployment.” “This is not a statistical anomaly. It is a deliberate outcome of a political arrangement designed to protect a colonial economic architecture while shutting out the black majority from meaningful participation “The GNU has failed to grow the economy and create jobs in successive quarters,” Malema said. According to Malema, the 0.5% economic growth across all three quarters of 2025 is a clear indicator of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises.
With more than 11 million South Africans still jobless, Malema described this situation not as a historical accident but as the “deliberate outcome of a political arrangement whose purpose is to protect a colonial economic architecture.” Malema argued that the current economic model is a continuation of past policies, which he believes were designed to benefit the few rather than the majority. “The GNU exists to prevent this redistribution.The GNU is not a break from the past; it is a continuation of an agenda that predates the 2024 elections,” he said. “Under the illusion of renewal, the GNU reaffirms the same neoliberal commitments that have suffocated our country for a decade.” Malema said GNU has chosen austerity over industrialisation, outsourcing over state capacity, privatisation over developmental governance, and foreign dependency over domestic resilience.
