Sepetlele Raseruthe, the EFF member whose ambitions to become Joburg member of mayoral committee (MMC) was rejected by the party because he did not finish his matric, says he has registered to upgrade his grade 12 results.
Reseruthe's name was pushed among the 10 people who were due to be sworn in as MMCs last week. He was due to occupy the position of MMC for public safety in the City of Gold, a position that would have vastly improved his income from being just an ordinary councillor. He is the party's regional chairperson in Joburg.
However, his name was removed from the list after the Red Berets leader Julius Malema realised he did not finish high school. His MMC position still remain vacant as he has now been deployed to serve as Municipal Public Accounts Committee chairperson.
On Sunday, Malema told delegates at the Free State provincial meeting that "if you wanted to lead the EFF, you needed to have matric".
Speaking to Sowetan on Wednesday, Raseruthe said he held no grudges and was in fact happy with the decision taken by the party to withdraw his name for MMC appointment.
“The ceiling is proper. I am fine. We are doing these things for the EFF and not for individual glory. I go where the party deploys me. If they say I must go to KwaZulu-Natal, I will go. We are a democratic centralism organisation. That’s how we operate in the EFF,” said Raseruthe.
He added that he had registered to upgrade his matric results early last month and is currently in the final year of a business management diploma course at College SA.
“Education is very important. It is not only about matric. In the EFF we aspire to obtain matric and post-matric qualifications,” said Raseruthe.
At the Free State meeting, Malema told delegates: “In Joburg, I was given the names of two comrades who were going to be MMCs. I said 'okay' but then later got time to read their profiles. I saw one of them doesn’t have matric and wants to be an MMC.
"I put a phone to EFF leadership and I said, ‘this guy can’t be an MMC’. He’s a good comrade but this position doesn’t require singing. I said we can’t be worse than the ANC.
“I’m going to sponsor a motion now in the next conference of the EFF that anyone who leads the EFF, the basic requirement is matric, so we correct the wrongs. You can no longer blame anyone for not going to school. Opportunities are there. The EFF Student Command is there to assist you.”
Meanwhile, EFF members in Joburg took to the branch's Twitter account to express their support for Raseruthe.
"We love our chairman and nothing can deduct our love for him", and "With or without matric we will fight injustice", they twitted.
kokam@sowetan.co.za
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