Malema wants state banks

Pretoria - EFF leader Julius Malema is calling for government-owned banks, adding that the financial sector and banks are stealing from the poor.

Banks were allowed to steal from the poor because government officials were benefiting he said on Saturday.

"We must make sure the financial sector is accountable," he said. "They [banks] are the ones stealing from us."

He told residents of Stofel park in Mamelodi that banks should not be allowed to repossess houses while an individual who was left with a year to go can't pay.

Losing assets

"There is no one who must loose a house. We must transform the financial sector and it must speak to the needs of our people," he said.

We need government-owned banks that would grant qualifying customers interest free loans, he said.

"We must deliver services. Why should government be worried about making a profit?"

He said people were charged exorbitant prices for the same house even after the bank had recovered its money.