Malema attacks Nedbank

Johannesburg - One of South Africa's largest banks again came under fire from ANC Youth League president Julius Malema on Friday.

This time Malema attacked Nedbank's black economic empowerment strategy.

"Nedbank Retail has appointed a black woman as chief financial officer but they've also created a new position for a chief operating officer at the same time -- so her powers were removed," he told the annual conference of the Black Management Forum in Midrand.

Malema was referring to the appointment of Raisibe Morathi as chief financial officer earlier this year and the appointment of Graham Dempster as chief operating officer and Morathi's superior.

Malema also attacked Nedbank for sending only its junior black management to meet him.

"They say we're meeting the youth league so it must be a black-on-black meeting," Malema said.

"We said to them that we won't meet them until they send their chief executive officer," he said.

The African National Congress Youth League was still waiting to talk to Nedbank, Malema said.

"We don't have an agenda against Nedbank but we can close all our accounts.

"People move accounts every day just because they don't like the woman on the front desk at the bank," he said to peals of laughter.

He also referred to the fact that Nedbank had withdrawn its sponsorship of Athletics SA following athlete Caster Semenya's gender verification saga. The bank has denied that this was the reason.

"Nedbank can't renew a sponsorship because of one man. Why punish our children for the sins of the father?" Malema asked.

- Sapa