Powerful Malema now has Zuma in his pocket

By Sibanengi Dube

Julius Malema is the most powerful politician in Mzansi at the moment. This is a fact. Disbelieve it at your own peril! The ANC Youth League has never produced such a powerful President before. The man hires and fires State Presidents, Premiers, and Cabinet members, MECs, Mayors and Councilors. Hate or love him, but the Limpopo young man has power and knows how to flaunt it.

It is a known secret that Malema announced Thabo Mbeki’s axing at a moment when South Africa least expected it. Buoyed by his uncontested victory in the just ended ANCYL congress, the boy now barks instructions that are followed by everyone in the ANC without question. Any ANC politician who intends to remain politically relevant would never dare question Malema’s orders.

Even newspapers seem to have joined the Malemania. The main stream newspapers have been devoting hectares of space to Malema’s utterances. Only recently Malema reminded President Jacob Zuma in his face during the ANCYL Conference that he delivered the Presidency to him and its now pay back time. He even had the guts to publicly blackmail Zuma. He told him to support the Youth league’s call for economic radical in exchange for a second term of the ANC Presidency. The order was straightforward and direct.

He never assured Zuma a second term. Instead his came up with stringent conditions. Zuma was left with no option and immediately changed tune and started mouthing economic empowerment. “Transformation has to take into account not just the management and equity ownership but the productive activities of the economy, where the state, private capital, cooperative and other forms of social ownership complement each other in an integrated way to eliminate poverty and faster shared economic growth, ”said Zuma.

The all time powerful, Winnie Mandikizela Mandela even described Malema as another Mandela. Zuma once hero-worshipped Malema as ‘a leader in the making’ while addressing a rally in Seshego a few years ago. Nelson Mandela also jocularly noted that Malema was “a popular man’ Mandela made the utterance when Malema was introduced to him by Fikile Mbalula in 2008.

The ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe is in serious trouble with the “popular man.” The “leader in making” wants Mantashe to start packing his bags from Lithuli House to create space for Fikile Mbalula. It is an open secret that the 30 year old Seshego boy appointed the entire Provincial Cabinet of Limpopo Province. Limpopo Premier, Casselle Mathale, is an overt disciple of the ANCYL boss.

Limpopo’s health and social development MEC, Dikeledi Magadzi’s days in the provincial cabinet are numbered after instituting investigations into the awarding of government tenders suspected to have benefited Malema and his cronies. Malema’s tentacles of power are not only limited to politics. The man is neither poor nor naïve. He knows what he is doing and is quiet comfortable with his actions. To be precise, he is in control and focused. He drives a fleet of swanky and ritzy cars on the fast lane.

The motor-mouthed politician is a proud owner of a black Mercedes-Benz AMG, worthy R734 000, drives an Aston Martin and a red Range Rover Sport, too. The ANC Youth League President, owns two multimillion-rand homes, both of which he bought for cash. The one is Sandton set him back by R3.6m while the other mansion in Polokwane was purchased for R1m. The former Cosas President with a humble beginning has a good taste for finer things in life. He always made fashion statements with his Gucci suits and Breitling watch with a staggering value of R250 000.

The guy is not even apologetic about his extravaganza life-style. He once revealed to the media that it was impossible for an ANCYL President to be poor. Malema is the director of four companies: 101 Junjus Trading CC, Blue Nightingale Trading 61, Ever Roaring Investment and SGL Engineering Projects.

One slippery lane that Malema seems to have successfully avoided is women. Nothing is known about any woman in Malema’s life. He recently said he has none as most of his time and loyalty was consumed by his ANCYL job. Malema said it would have been difficult for him to give people hugs if he had a woman who he must be loyal and accountable to.

He is far from being just a wood-work kind of guy as the media made everyone to believe. He is a shrewd schemer, tactician and watches carefully where he places his leg. What Malema roars goes. His nationalization and economic transformation utterances were echoed by Zuma when he gave a key note address at the Youth Congress in Midrand on the historic June16 day.

Malema had the temerity to even reshuffle Zuma’s cabinet. He expressed his public unhappiness over the deputy minister position that his political ally, Fikile Mbalula was given by Zuma. Mushina wami was arm twisted and left with no option except to move Mbalula to a full cabinet post, Ministry of sports.

The Deputy President Kgalema Mothlante is in Malema’s pocket. He is being touted as a better president than Zuma. Mathews Phosa is also in Malema’s bag. The ANC Treasurer even represented Malema during his internal disciplinary hearing. So who doubts then that the boy is powerful?