Malema did not mince his words during a media briefing on Thursday evening, 18 July 2019. He said the SACP failed dismally to govern the troubled local municipality, which includes Sasolburg, because the party has no ground presence and capacity to mobilise anywhere in the country, including in the municipality. He was responding to the SACP's call to have Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, removed from her office and the party's decision to defend the Enterprise Minister, Pravin Gordhan. Malema says Mapaila is a coward.

He says the EFF will not be stopped. No-one but the voters can stop the party. "No businessman, not even a thug, no criminal, no gangster, no amount of intimidation can stop the EFF. We don't listen to anyone (but) our voters - 1.8 million said to us to ‘go back doing what you were doing, we are happy’,“ he says. "These ones who stand up here, all of them have lost votes (and ) if their strategy is working if their conduct is so nice and Parliamentary and accepted by everyone, why are they losing votes," adds Malema. During the briefing, Malema said the EFF was the only party growing significantly.

He says they are not shaken and they will continue to treat Gordhan as a constitutional delinquent. “Anyone who doesn't like it can go and have a nice cup of tea at home because there is nothing you can do about it, says Malema. Malema earlier on Thursday afternoon in Parliament urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to act against Gordhan and implement the public protector’s findings against the minister.

This comes a few days after Ramaphosa has reportedly filed an urgent court application in support of Gordhan against Mkhwebane’s remedial actions.

Last Wednesday, Gordhan filed court papers in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in an urgent bid to interdict Mkhwebane's remedial actions over the rogue unit allegations against Gordhan, amongst others. This as Mkhwebane, in her report, found that an early pension payment made to Pillay, when Gordhan was finance minister, was irregular.

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