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The ANC youth league has given Absa 21 days to pay back the money or they will burn everything owned by the financial institution.
These words were spoken by deputy president Desmond Moela, who was addressing thousands of supporters who marched to Absa’s headquarters in Johannesburg today.
Officials of the league – including president Collen Maine and deputy secretary-general Thandi Moraka – handed over a memorandum to Absa officials who made a brief appearance and committed to giving the memorandum, “due consideration”.
The march to Absa followed the leak of a preliminary report by the Public Protector’s office, which was investigating apartheid debt. The report proposed that the financial institution repay R2.2 billion that it had received in bailouts from the apartheid government.
Today’s event had been advertised as an occupation of the bank but Moela insisted that the peaceful march was just the first phase of their action against the bank.
He said that they would wait for Absa to respond. Should its response not be that it would pay back the money, the league would escalate its actions to daily demonstrations in all branches across the country.
The large group was escorted by public order police as well as officers from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department.
During Maine’s reading of the memorandum, some supporters set a tyre alight.
When the officials from Absa were introduced, the crowd began chanting: “Pay back the money.”
ANC youth league supporters were joined by a small group of about Black First Land First supporters, who have also been calling on Absa to pay back the money.
Earlier last year the EFF announced that it would be occupying Absa but months later, the occupation was yet to take place. Last month EFF leader Julius Malema told journalists that they would not hop on to the bandwagon of occupying Absa.
“I will never be told by the opposition of the EFF how we must fight Absa,” said Malema.
“The people who are calling for the occupation of Absa and that Absa pay back the money are on the Gupta payroll. We said we will do it and not announce it. Absa will just wake up one day with red berets all over,” said Malema.
