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Cape Town – A scuffle broke out between Black First Land First (BFLF) head Andile Mngxitama and Standing Committee on Finance chairperson Yunus Carrim on Wednesday during public hearings on economic transformation.
Mngxitama had given a presentation titled the Malikane Proposals, which called on Parliament to create a new National Economic Plan, based on the ideology of radical economic transformation espoused by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s adviser Chris Malikane.
A scuffle apparently broke out after Mngxitama started giving Carrim – a member of the Communist Party – a lecture on Marxism.
Democratic Alliance finance spokesperson David Maynier caught the moment on camera, tweeting that the “BFLF movement gets into a scuffle in Parliament”.
"The Guptas' foot-soldiers, the BFLF came here, with ANN7 in tow, to provoke and disrupt with their so-called Malikane Proposals,” Maynier told Fin24’s Matthew le Cordeur.
“The BFLF scuffle will have absolutely no effect beyond a five-minute movie on ANN7."
The link between BFLF and the Guptas was made in a document titled "Bell Pottinger PR support for the Gupta family" allegedly written by former Bell Pottinger employees, which claimed that the UK firm "either helped set up or funded two organisations, the Decolonisation Foundation and BFLF", according to a report in the Sunday Times.
The BFLF clashed with protesters outside the Gupta residence in Saxonwold last month.
Photo: Mngxitama clashes with Carrim
Mngxitama: I gave Carrim a lecture on Marxism
Mngxitama told News24 journalist Jan Gerber outside the hearing that Carrim was “just shouting and came down to where we were sitting”, but said “there were no white shirts”, a reference to Parliament’s security team.
“He (Carrim) doesn’t agree with us because of the Communist Party,” said Mngxitama. “They are a faction for white monopoly capital.
“Our presentation was by-and-large about the expropriation of white capital to bring about radical economic transformation; the expropriation of land taken from their friends, who are white monopoly capital.
“We gave them some basic lessons in Marxism, which is supposed to be their ideology. So he felt that he needed to – I suppose – satisfy his masters by chasing out the committee.
“Carrim has a mandate from white capital and he felt – I suppose – that we made a case for why white capital must be expropriated. He is fighting white capital.
“We are not fighting black people. Carrim is black, he just has Indian superiority consciousness just like (Mahatma) Gandhi. But he is our person. Ultimately, we will accept him back home when he is done selling out.”
Carrim lambastes Mngxitama for calling co-chair a fascist
Carrim said while the incident was regrettable, the committee would take on board the group’s concrete proposals.
“There were some very good and concrete proposals,” he told Fin24. “His proposals on collusion on the banks, we welcome. In the midst of his slogans there were concrete proposal, which the committee will include.”
However, Carrim believes Mngxitama came to have a showdown in Parliament and pointed to Maynier’s question in Parliament regarding ANN7’s presence.
“The question was raised by a member of the committee, asking if there was any coincidence that ANN7 left the hearing at the same time as Mngxitama and never returned. It appears Mngxitama came there to have a showdown, he didn’t come to engage.”
While Carrim brushed off the attacks on him as a symptom of the polarisation of politics in South Africa, he was highly critical of Mngxitama’s attack on co-chair Joanmariae Fubbs.
“To describe her as a fascist is unacceptable,” he said. “She is a humble, hard-working and modest veteran with very deep roots.”
Regarding the attacks on himself, he said: “It’s his right even though it’s laughable.”
Carrim said Parliament welcomes the freedom of expression by the public, but believes there should be certain rules that should be followed.
“He was disrupting the meeting and he didn’t allow it to continue,” he said. “Things panned out the way they did. It is a symptom of the polarised times we are in and these things are to be expected.”
The Malikane Proposals
In his presentation, Mngxitama said the BFLF calls for the “serious engagement (of) the Malikane Proposals”.
According to his presentation, the Malikane Proposals include:
- A new National Economic Plan, which outlines how the following key demands can immediately be realised.
- Expropriation of white monopoly capital establishments, such as banks, insurance companies, mines and other monopoly capital industries, to industrialise the economy.
- Establishment of a state bank, which will consolidate all state-owned financial institutions to facilitate affordable credit to the progressive class forces.
- Nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank.
- Expropriation of all land without compensation.
- Gigaba has previously distanced himself from Malikane’s views, but has kept him close during his investor trip to the US last month, as well as at the World Economic Forum on Africa that is taking place from Wednesday in Durban.
