Julius Malema urges, Zimbabweans to seek jobs at home…Prioritizes South Africans for employment in SA

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
leader Julius Malema has called on
Zimbabweans to seek employment in
their oWn municipalities rather than in
South Africa, while stressing that local
workers should be prioritized for
municipal tenders.

Speaking at the EFFs Siyabonga Rally in
Seshego on August 16, Malema said
South Africa’s high youth
unemployment rate meant that the
country needed to focus on creating
and protecting opportunities for its
citizens first.

“We are not saying Zimbabweans
should not be given jobs, but they must
get jobs from their own municipalities,”
Malema said.

He pointed to Harare and
other Zimbabwean cities as places
where job opportunities should be
sought instead of South Africa.

South Africa’s official youth
unemployment rate stands at 66.5%, a
figure Malema described as alarming
and unsustainable. He said this was one
of the reasons the EFF was prioritizing
policies that directed municipal tenders
and other local job opportunities to
South African workers.

The EFF leader’s remarks come as a
shift from his 2022 position, when he
encouraged South African enmployers to
hire Zimbabweans and other African
nationals, though still maintaining that
preference should be given to local
citizens.

At that time, Malema had argued that
African solidarity required employers
to consider workers from across the
continent, particularly those from
countries facing economic and political
challenges. However, in Seshego, his
message focused squarely on the need
to protect South African jobs amid
deepening economic hardships at home.
His comments are likely to stir debate,
as South Africa continues to grapple
with tensions over migration,
particularly around competition for
jobs, housing, and access to services.
The issue has been a recurring
flashpoint in South African politics,
with unemployment often at the center
of these discussions.

Malema’s remarks also come at a time
when Zimbabweans continue to
migrate to South Africa in significant
numbers, driven by limited
opportunities in their own country. The
EFF leader insisted, however, that it
was the responsibility of Zimbabwe’s
municipalities to create employment
for their people, not South Africa’s.