Durban - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) secretary-general Marshall Dlamini has told party members in KwaZulu-Natal that they must start speaking with traditional leaders in the province as the party looks for ways to grow its membership in rural areas.
Dlamini was briefing party members in Durban during the EFF’s provincial plenary on Sunday.
He urged them to start engaging with traditional leaders in order to make inroads into areas under their control.
“The IFP does not have a monopoly on traditional leaders. Traditional leaders themselves do not have monopoly on their communities,” he said.
He said EFF members had never been chased away from any rural areas, adding that some traditional leaders were eager to meet and engage with the party’s EFF leaders.
“We must meet and engage our traditional leaders, lets go and sit down with them, if they want to differ with us, lets go to their houses and differ with them there,” said Dlamini.
He said the party planned to call an imbizo with all traditional leaders.
He also called on party members to make more effort to win by-elections.
“The issue of by-elections, we are going to fight for ( to win) by-elections now.
“We had a programme in inland (areas) and EFF (inland), they understand how to win by-elections now. The reality is that we must start winning by-elections, because it's common sense that you cannot win 900 wards when you can't win one.
“So we have to win by-elections, all by-elections we are contesting and we are not being playful,” Dlamini said, adding that the EFF should not avoid contesting areas which are perceived as the territory of other parties.