The EFF is a South African far-left, Marxist-Leninist and Pan-Africanist party founded in 2013 by Julius Malema. It advocates radical economic transformation, including land expropriation without compensation, nationalisation, insourcing of municipal work and expanded free basic services.
In the 2021 local elections the EFF won 982 council seats across 189 municipalities, mostly in Limpopo (168), KwaZulu-Natal (150) and the North West (136).
A match on these questions is not agreement with a party's whole programme. Here are other policies we did not ask you about.
Other recorded policies from Economic Freedom Fighters
Double social grants to reduce poverty.
Increasing existing grant payments
A shared direction does not mean identical plans, funding or conditions.Expropriate land without compensation; state custodian of natural resources.
Expropriation without compensation
A shared direction does not mean identical plans, funding or conditions.Selected policies, not a full manifesto or ballot list. National policies are context, not powers a council can exercise on its own. Local plans can also need other agencies. Read dates and sources before deciding.
Insource core municipal workers into permanent jobs.
effonline.orgWrite off historical debt owed by indigent households.
effonline.orgProvide free basic services to qualifying poor households.
effonline.orgConvert unused and hijacked buildings into affordable housing.
effonline.orgProvide alternative accommodation when relocation is necessary.
effonline.orgTop municipal jobs, like the city manager and the head of finance, should be filled by an independent panel. Political parties should have no say in who gets them.
"Rebuild professional municipal capacity with engineers, planners and financial managers; an independent appointment panel removing political-party influence is not specified."
The law should stop the municipality from raising rates and service charges (water, electricity, refuse) by more than inflation each year.
Note: The July 2026 primary manifesto PDF and Jobs and SMMEs webpage were successfully opened, unlike the earlier pass. The PDF fetch reaches approximately 48,000 characters and is not a complete extraction of every page. All previously pre-2025 citations are replaced where their underlying policies were verified. A February 2025 party resolution explicitly demands cancellation of all IPPs. Q20 changed because the manifesto supports free prepaid installation, not the previously inferred opposition. Q10 and Q19 cleared: pan-African identity and opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric do not establish the exact permit-check or nationality-only ownership policies. September statement listings were searched; no replacement manifesto was found.
Parties and readers can challenge any score with a source. A person reviews every submission; accepted changes appear in the public changelog with the date and source.
Party positions were checked in September 2026 against manifestos, party statements and news reports. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Changelog →
Answer the same statements and see your match with EFF, and with every other party.
Start the quizDevelop public municipal energy capacity and maintain electricity infrastructure.
effonline.orgPoor households should get more free water and electricity, even if better-off households pay more to cover it.
"Provide free water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal to indigent households, including informal settlements, backyard dwellings and rural communities."
The municipality should cut off water and electricity to anyone who does not pay their bill, including businesses and government departments.
"End punitive service disconnections for qualifying indigent households and protect households in debt-rehabilitation programmes; this rejects cutting off everyone who cannot pay."
Where the municipality is failing at electricity, water or rubbish removal, it should pay private companies to run those services.
"Build internal capacity, insource core municipal services and reduce dependence on private contractors."
The municipality should cancel what poor households still owe on old water and electricity bills.
"Write off all historical debt owed by indigent households and introduce rehabilitation programmes to prevent new unsustainable debt."
Every home should be put on prepaid electricity and water meters, including homes that now pay a monthly bill.
"Install prepaid meters free and modernise tamper-proof metering; the manifesto does not mandate prepaid electricity and water for every home."
The municipality should buy electricity from private producers and from homes with solar panels, instead of only from Eskom.
"Party resolutions demand cancellation of all renewable and non-renewable independent power producers and expansion of state-owned energy infrastructure."
When the municipality hands out contracts, it should stop giving black-owned businesses preference and choose only on price and ability to do the job.
"Manifesto explicitly supports black-owned enterprises in procurement of sporting, cultural and recreational equipment."
Security guards, cleaners and other contract workers should become permanent municipal employees, even if that costs more than using private companies.
"Insource security, cleaning, waste collection, maintenance and other core municipal services to create permanent jobs."
Before giving anyone a house, a trading permit or a business licence, the municipality should check that they are in the country legally.
"EFF maintains a Pan-Africanist platform and 'opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric'; it rejects immigration-status verification for services and deportation drives."
Only spaza shops and street traders with a licence should be allowed to trade. Those without one should be shut down.
"Formalise informal trading with supportive by-laws, trading spaces and registration/compliance assistance; leaning against blanket shutdowns is an inference."
Only South African citizens and permanent residents should be allowed to own or run spaza shops and street stalls.
"EFF runs a pan-Africanist platform with 'opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric,' welcoming African migrants, opposed to reserving spaza ownership for South African citizens only."
When people occupy land or buildings illegally, they should be removed straight away, even if they have nowhere else to go.
"Prevent unlawful evictions and provide alternative accommodation wherever relocation is necessary."
The municipality should take over hijacked and abandoned buildings in the city centre and turn them into affordable housing.
"Convert unused and hijacked buildings into safe, regulated and affordable housing where appropriate."
Metro police should get more officers and the power to investigate crimes, not only handle traffic and by-laws.
The municipality should limit the hours taverns and bottle stores may sell alcohol, and close those next to schools and homes.
Renaming streets and public places after people from all of South Africa's history should carry on, even when it costs money and some residents object.
"Remove apartheid-era statues and rename streets, towns and landmarks celebrating colonialism or apartheid to reflect South African history and aspirations."