EFF’s Floyd Shivambu comment of ‘non African’, condemned for being racist

JOHANNESBURG-  In extraordinary scenes in parliament on Tuesday where Floyd Shivambu during a heated exchange with Treasury deputy director general and ANC veteran Ismail Momoniat, Shivambu rejected Treasury representative because he was not African.

Shiivambu has repeatedly rejected Mononiat frequent presence at the committee and director general Dondo Mogajane did not appear. He said this undermined African ‘representativeness’.

The EFF’s leader comment caused outrage and Finance committee chairman Yunus Carrim was furious when he made the statement and calling him to order saying Momoniat was a struggle veteran and was very active in the underground during fight against apartheid.

Shivambu reportedly said: “I think he undermines Africans. He does not take the director-general, the finance minister or the deputy finance minister seriously. He thinks he is superior to them. He takes all the decisions and he is always here in Parliament as if he is National Treasury alone. He is supposed to focus on what he is assigned to.”

Shivambu said he statement was not racist.

The crude & shallow racial nativism of the educated but frankly stupid flabby floyd

& then… Yoyo Yunus: `momoniat is a struggle veteran'… but Momo`s legitimacy at FinCom is not based on his struggle reciepts… It is based on his job descriptionhttps://t.co/AbGDlmj7JU

— Ebrahim Fakir (@EbrahimFakir) June 5, 2018

“The EFF’s newest campaign is to throw mud at the Treasury: in the National Assembly Malema said Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was “as corrupt as hell” and Floyd Shivambu referred to Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat as “a corrupt guy in Treasury known as Momo”.”

— Sangxa (@sangxa) June 5, 2018

#IsmailMomoniat began his serious activism in 1979 @FloydShivambu was born in 1983

I think we all owe each other the honour and duty of knowing each other's story before we attack and harm. We might find we are borthers and sisters in arms. 🙏🏾🇿🇦✊🏾✌🏽

— Ferial Haffajee (@ferialhaffajee) June 5, 2018

We know him very well and we also know why he’s treated special by those who also don’t have respect for African leadership and African colleagues.

— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) June 5, 2018

Hi @RanjeniM, I know who Ismail Momoniat is. He’s historically part of a Cabal that divided the MDM. He’s also the Neo-liberal technocrat who doesn’t respect African leadership. He thinks he owns National Treasury. You can share more information. What else? pic.twitter.com/lydZD9TGEz

— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) June 5, 2018

Photo Credit- Gallo Images