EFF hits back at Mbalula over claims it fuelled anti-immigrant sentiment

Malema

Pretoria – The EFF has accused ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of misrepresenting its stance on illegal immigration and the employment of foreign nationals after he claimed the party helped fuel anti-immigrant sentiment.

Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, Mbalula alleged that the EFF’s 2022 inspections of restaurants at the Mall of Africa, where it called for a 60:40 employment ratio of South Africans to foreign nationals, normalised the targeting of migrants and contributed to the current anti-illegal immigration movement.

Mbalula also wrote on his Faebook Page: “Let us jog the public memory, because they will deny it. In January 2022, the Economic Freedom Fighters and their leader, Julius Malema, marched into restaurants, beginning at the Mall of Africa, to ‘inspect’ how many South Africans and how many foreigners were employed, demanding a sixty forty quota of locals to migrants. At one establishment the owner was pressured until a staffing split was announced.”

He continued: “The Department of Employment and Labour condemned these unlawful, self-appointed inspections at the time. That theatre, the party posing as the enforcer, hauling the foreign worker into the spotlight, helped to normalise the very targeting of the vulnerable that we now see on our streets. Today the same party wishes to wrap itself in the flag of pan-Africanism. The record says otherwise. You cannot light the match in 2022 and profess shock at the fire in 2026.”

The EFF, however, rejected the allegations, insisting it has never supported or participated in campaigns to intimidate or remove foreign nationals.

The party said in a statement that it remains committed to Pan-Africanism and opposes xenophobia, arguing that South Africa’s challenges stem from corruption, unemployment and government failures rather than migrants.

The EFF maintained that its 2022 visits were legitimate parliamentary oversight inspections led by Julius Malema to assess compliance with labour laws and prevent the exploitation of undocumented workers.

“Equally dishonest is Mbalula’s attempt to blame the EFF for igniting anti-immigrant mobilisation by referring to the EFF’s 2022 parliamentary oversight visits to restaurants and businesses. Those oversight visits, led by the president of the EFF, Julius Malema, were conducted in the exercise of Parliament’s constitutional oversight responsibilities.

“Their purpose was to assess compliance with South Africa’s labour legislation, including whether employers were adhering to employment laws, ending the exploitation of undocumented labour, and ensuring that both South African and foreign workers were employed under lawful and fair conditions,” the EFF said.

It also blamed the ANC for allowing border management and immigration systems to deteriorate, saying poor governance had fuelled tensions over illegal immigration.

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