In a provocative statement stirring national debate, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has claimed that the houses allocated to black people under apartheid were superior in quality to those built by the ANC government since democracy. Speaking with his signature firebrand delivery, Malema did not mince words, saying that the post-1994 democratic state has failed to deliver dignified housing for the very people it promised to uplift.
Malema pointed to the poor condition of many RDP houses, citing shoddy construction, cramped space, and lack of proper infrastructure as ongoing failures of governance. He compared these with the more solid and durable homes built during apartheid—even though those, he noted, were part of a cruel system designed to control and segregate black South Africans. His argument wasn’t a praise of the past, but a searing indictment of the present.
The comment has drawn both fierce criticism and reluctant agreement across social and political spheres. Supporters say Malema is raising uncomfortable truths about declining service delivery and corruption in housing tenders. Detractors argue he is oversimplifying a complex history and giving undue credit to an oppressive regime.
Either way, the message is loud and clear: three decades into democracy, many South Africans still feel trapped in a cycle of broken promises and crumbling walls. Malema’s words have once again reignited a painful national conversation—what has really changed for the poorest since 1994?
