We ignore influence of EFF at our peril

MANY people would guffaw at the seemingly lunatic antics and policies of the EFF. We do so at our peril.

Like it or not, Julius Malema's message reverberates strongly in the hearts of thousands of people. I say hearts rather than minds purposely. For the poor, unemployed, those who feel downtrodden, ignored and passed over by those in authority, his message hits them at the centre of their beings and declares that someone cares about their lives.

The capitalist system is okay for the "haves" of society. They earn a wage, which enables them to save, have investments which grow and feel a confidence in their future circumstances.

For the "have nots" – those with little or indeed an increasingly dwindling income – the scenario is both frightening and desperate. Ours is not a developed welfare society that catches people if they are, or become, down and out.

For thousands of people in this country the so-called prosperity and freedom of post-apartheid South Africa has been little but words. Desperate people, those with empty stomachs, people who do not have the means to provide for their children may feel that they cannot afford to be intellectual about how certain policies which, if implemented, will destroy the economy of the country. For many it can get no worse.

The delivery on promises of improvement are long overdue and have seen many people's loved ones to their graves before having the chance of rightly sharing in the fruits of this land.

A cause declaring economic freedom, supposedly bringing a better life for all in real terms, within the foreseeable future, is very powerful indeed. The EFF policies may seem foolhardy in the extreme, but I have no doubt that, for many, they seem to offer a future currently beyond their grasp.

Barry Sendall, Walmer, Port Elizabeth