31/05/2026
Malema Says Zimbabweans Didn't Invent Unemployment, Capitalism Did
BOKSBURG In a development that may disappoint those who believe every pothole, power outage and missing job application can be traced back to a Zimbabwean crossing the Limpopo, EFF leader Julius Malema has delivered a reality check: migrants are not the architects of South Africa's economic woes.
Speaking at the South African Communist Party's Conference of the Left, Malema suggested that South Africans looking for the mastermind behind unemployment should perhaps stop interrogating street vendors and start examining the economy itself.
According to Malema, poor Africans from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia and elsewhere have somehow acquired mythical powers in public discourse. They are blamed for unemployment, collapsing services, crime, overcrowded hospitals, traffic congestion, and, if social media is to be believed, possibly bad weather.
"Poor Africans are not responsible for unemployment, inequality or collapsing public services," Malema declared, in a statement likely to trigger several WhatsApp groups simultaneously.
The EFF leader argued that migrants did not privatise state capacity, concentrate ownership of land, or design an economy that struggles to create jobs. He pointed out that it would be difficult for a Zimbabwean street vendor to secretly control South Africa's financial sector while simultaneously selling tomatoes on a pavement.
Instead, Malema reserved his criticism for capitalism, which he accused of performing exactly as advertised: generating enormous wealth for a select few while encouraging everyone else to compete for the remaining crumbs.
He painted a bleak picture of a world where technology advances at lightning speed, yet millions remain unemployed; where productivity soars, but wages barely move; and where society somehow produces billionaires and food insecurity in the same neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, South Africa's unemployment figures remain stubbornly high. Official unemployment sits above 32%, while expanded unemployment exceeds 43%. Youth unemployment remains so severe that obtaining a qualification increasingly feels like receiving a beautifully framed invitation to join the queue.
Malema warned that blaming migrants for these realities amounts to what he called "Afrophobia"a convenient political shortcut that redirects public anger away from economic structures and towards vulnerable foreigners.
After all, blaming a struggling migrant for unemployment is considerably easier than explaining why an economy with abundant resources and decades of democratic rule still struggles to provide opportunities for millions.
The EFF leader also used the occasion to take a swipe at the ANC, arguing that the former liberation movement increasingly behaves like a landlord surprised to discover other political parties have keys to the building.
He suggested that some ANC leaders had become so accustomed to political dominance that they began mistaking the organisation for liberation itself.
The conference, attended by representatives from various left-wing formations, was intended to strengthen cooperation among organisations seeking alternatives to the current economic order. Whether it succeeds remains to be seen.
What is clear is that South Africa's debate over immigration is unlikely to end soon. One side insists migrants are the source of the country's problems.
The other insists the problems were already here and merely found convenient scapegoats.
For now, Zimbabweans can at least celebrate one small victory: according to Malema, they are no longer being held personally responsible for South Africa's unemployment crisis.
The load-shedding schedule, however, remains under investigation.
